


Trapped in the Past: Area 51

by zeusfluff



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-08 19:46:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 32,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1136644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeusfluff/pseuds/zeusfluff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Q transports Commander Riker, Troi and Doctor Crusher to the past, they are arrested at Area 51. Can they figure a way out? Or will they be kept prisoners in the past for good?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trapped in the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters.

Trapped in the Past

 

Author: ZeusFluff.  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Star Trek characters. So no infringement is intended. But I do own Laura. Summary: When Q transports Commander Riker, Troi and Doctor Crusher to the past, they are arrested at Area 51. Can they figure a way out? Or will they be kept prisoners in the past for good? Date Started: 1/9/14. Date Finished: 1/9/14. Hope you will all enjoy! Thanks! A/N: Set from Riker’s POV. I find him easier to write for some reason.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stardate 5684.3

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701-D

Deck 5: Sickbay

“Would the two of you like to know the sex of your baby?”

I smiled but shook my head and looked at Deanna. I squeezed her hand as she answered.

“Will and I would prefer to wait until the baby is born. We want to be surprised. Although, our guess is a girl.”

A slight smile spread across Beverly face. 

“Alright. It’s your choice. Funny. I remember being asked that same question at Starfleet Medical 17 years ago. Jack was over the moon when we found out we were having a boy. Strange though, my instincts and intuition told me I was having a girl. I remember how at first my face completely blanched when the doctor told me I was having a set of twins. Turns out, it was just a malfunction with the medical tricorder and the image of Wesley was superimposed next to him. Though I wouldn’t have minded a boy and a girl. The universe chooses, not me.”

The three of us turned when we heard loud clapping and found that it was Q, with his usual smirk on his face.

“That actually almost brought a tear to my eye. Really it did. You think you’ve got it difficult in this century with the medical techniques regarding the care of mother and child. I assure you, there are places where it is far more primitive and painful.”

Before Deanna and I could protest we were caught up in a flash of light. Everything was blurry at first, but then my eyes adjusted. I slowly sat up and saw an ancient chain-link fence in front of me with the words: Restricted Area. Area 51. U.S. Government. Trespassers will be arrested and fined.

I knit my forehead together in confusion. What the hell? I turned when I heard Deanna groan on the ground next to me. I carefully helped her into a sitting position. Suddenly I felt the barrel of a weapon against the back of my neck.

“You! Both of you put your hands up! Don’t move!”

Deanna looked at me wide eyed and put her hands up along with me. I suddenly found there was a stinging sensation in my back of my neck and I slowly faded out. What was going on? 

 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	2. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna get a rude awakening when they find out just how archaic 21st Century technology is, to them at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own the Star Trek characters. But I do own Laura.

I groaned and coughed a little. There was something over my face. I cracked open my eyes to see blurry figures at first, but after a minute, my eyes adjusted and I found myself being pushed on an old-fashioned stretcher with wheels. The man directly to my left was in ancient U.S. camouflage military uniform. Judging by the four stars on his uniform collar he was a general. He looked me straight in the eye and spoke up.

“You are a risk to the American public. You are carrying an alien virus, and if you were to escape from this facility, untold millions would die. Who are you?”

I couldn’t see the general’s face, it was covered by a surgical mask, much like the other five men pushing the stretcher. I turned my head to see another stretcher being rolled next to me by all women, but in different uniform. Deanna couldn’t have been less than a meter from me, I could almost touch her. But noticed my hands were restrained with some white plastic called tie-wrap. They were really digging into my skin. I looked back to the general and tried to speak, but found it difficult. What did they give me? 

“That woman on the other s-stretcher is my wife. Don’t hurt her, or our baby.”

The man’s eyes hardened and he looked straight ahead of him. We were now rolling down the hallway. Another on the right of me spoke.

“Don’t worry, you and you’re wife will be quarantined together. There was another woman with you, red hair, and a strange looking uniform.”

Beverly. I couldn’t divulge anything to them. The Prime Directive forbids me from it. I’d have to make something up.

“She’s my sister.”

Before I knew what was going on, Deanna and I were rolled into a starch-white room. The General on the right cut the tie-wraps while the one on the left shoved me off the stretcher roughly and motioned for two more men in uniform to come towards me.

“Strip and body cavity search him. Put the wife on monitors and give her a gown. No search for her. They could be spies for all we know.”

So the virus was a cover? I was horrified, I’d read about what happened to people during body cavity searches. You feel like you lose your dignity. 

“I have nothing to hide. But I want you to know, I strongly protest this.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I was given pants with my hospital gown. I now sat on the bed cross-legged across from Deanna. The women had finished tucking the covers around her. One was sticking something into Deanna’s hand.

“Something to keep you hydrated.”

The same nurse took something from her pocket and aimed it at the hospital bracelet on Deanna’s left wrist. I had to use every ounce of my strength not to lunge at the strange object in the woman’s hand. I swallowed and watched as the nurse came over to me and scanned the bracelet on my left wrist. 

“What? You’ve never seen a barcode scanner before? Ok I need to know your name so that I can put it into the scanner.”

I nodded my head slowly.

“Will Riker. I’m from Palmer, Alaska. The woman across from me is my wife Deanna Troi. She’s from Boston.”

Deanna looked at me but didn’t say anything.

“Imzadi, what are you doing?”

I smiled and reached my hand across and grabbed for her hand with the iv in it.

“Protecting you for as long as I can.”

Deanna looked at the computer monitor on the side of the bed, it was beeping rapidly. Her eyes grew big and I grabbed for her hand tighter.

“What’s wrong?”

The nurse went under our linked hands and pulled the blanket back. There was a band around Deanna’s stomach. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was used for. The nurse smiled and adjusted the band around Deanna’s stomach. The rapid beeping stopped and leveled off.

“No worries. Your baby’s alright. The band just slipped a little and wasn’t registering the heartbeat. Your baby’s heart rate is holding at 137. Keep this in your nose. Your oxygen levels aren’t where they should be. Get some rest, the doctor will be in, in a couple of hours to take an ultrasound and take some readings from the fetal heart monitor you’re hooked up to.”

The nurse shut the door behind her and now it was just the two of us. Deanna ran a hand through my hair. 

“Are you alright Will? I never realized how primitive Earth was. When was it that they got rid of strip searches anyways?”

I smiled and kissed her hand.

“I’m alright. If I could find a calendar, to see what the date is… I can figure out when they got rid of that archaic method. Keep the blanket tucked around you, it’s a little chilly in here. Maybe I can ask one of the nurses to turn the heat up.”

I could tell Deanna was cold. I dug in the drawers and found a blanket, a scratchy one, but a blanket nonetheless. 

“Here, another blanket Imzadi. I wish I knew why they were holding us here.”

Deanna looked around the room and raised her eyebrows at some of the medical instruments. 

“This must have been top of the line medical instruments for the time. Oh by the way, I found a calendar in the bedside drawer. It’s April 15th, 2011.”

I knit my eyebrows together in confusion. 

“Then that must mean this is the early 21st century. Two centuries from now this is a museum. Be careful. You don’t want to pull that iv needle out of your hand. I don’t see why they are giving you liquid Saline. Unless they think you are dehydrated. Wait a minute. The nurse did say that the doctor was supposed to perform an ultrasound on you. That would mean your bladder would have to be full.”

Deanna just looked at me and shook her head.

“How do you know these things? Have you been talking to Beverly about ancient medical practices?”

I shook my head and laughed a little. 

“Only in passing Imzadi. Look you should get a little sleep. You look tired. Baby takes all the energy from you.”

I watched as Deanna leaned back and closed her eyes. I crawled on the bed, and pulled her semi-into my arms. I was careful not to get tangled in her iv line. I turned and watched the monitor screen as the green lines went up and down. I quietly placed a hand over Deanna’s baby belly. 

“Daddy is going to figure out a way to get us out of here ok? And back to the 24th Century.”

I got a strong kick against my hand as if the baby were agreeing with me. I cracked open my eyes when I heard the door click open. I sat up when I saw it was the doctor.  
“She’s sleeping. She’s exhausted.”

The doctor only nodded her head seriously. 

“I understand Mr. Riker. That’s a normal part of the process. I’m Doctor Sarah Sartos. I’ll start with the ultrasound first. We’ll do the internal exam last.”

I cleared my throat and looked at Doctor Sartos seriously.

“Internal exam? I thought you were only going to do an ultrasound?”

I sighed and shook Deanna’s shoulder. She opened up her eyes and wiped the sleep from them. I helped her lean up against the pillows and settled myself in the chair next to the bed. The nurse pulled the covers back and I could barely see a tiny foot flutter just below the skin of Deanna’s stomach. Doctor Sartos spread some clear gel onto her stomach and placed a wand on top of it. 

“That’s cold.”

Doctor Sartos nodded her head and gave a small sympathetic smile.

“I know I’m sorry. And there’s… your baby. Baby’s a bit small. 31 weeks you said?”

The both of us nodded our heads. Doctor Sartos turned off the black and white machine and rolled it away to another corner of the room while a nurse wiped away the gel with a  
towel. She frowned and kept a serious face.

“I got the blood test results back on your blood. Will, you are human. But Deanna, you are human and a mix of something our computers can’t even make heads or tails of. What are you?”

I put a hand in hers and shook my head no.

‘Don’t tell her Imzadi.’

Deanna pulled her hospital gown over her stomach and sat up straighter. I knew she was reading everyone’s emotions in the room.

“If I tell you, will you let us go?”

Doctor Sartos nodded her head yes.

“Of course.”

Deanna narrowed her eyes.

“You’re lying. I’m human. For all I know you could’ve altered those blood tests to make it look like I’m someone I’m not. Now what do you really want with me and my husband? Why are you so interested in my baby?”

Doctor Sartos only smiled.

“Oh, you and your baby are very interesting to us. What fascinates me is the fact that you are not from this planet. What I’d like to know is why your baby is so small. 31 weeks and your baby should be a lot bigger. That would mean you are somewhere around 22 weeks. Three months to go and your baby might be underweight. I’d like to perform one more test just to make sure everything is going alright.”

I looked at Deanna and squeezed her hand. 

“I’m right here sweetheart. Just relax.”

She squeezed my hand tighter and bit her lip for a minute. This was very primitive. I couldn’t believe how archaic all this was. 

“I’m sorry I know this is uncomfortable. I’m almost finished. Well, everything’s intact. No ruptures in the amniotic sac, that’s a good thing. We’ll continue to monitor your baby. Bed rest would be a good idea for you.”

I looked at Doctor Sartos. She was being very cryptic. I saw Deanna arch her eyebrow and took my hand in both of hers. 

“Why?”

Doctor Sartos kind of evaded the question.

“We’ll run some more tests to determine that. Why you would need to be on bed rest. For now, I suggest you get some more rest and take it easy. Someone will be in later to give you dinner.”

We were once again left alone in the room. I looked at Deanna, I could feel she was slightly nervous, just by the tense feeling in her arms. 

“We have to get out of here. But I don’t see how. There are closed-circuit cameras in the far right corner of the room and four armed guards outside the door to this room. Without transporters this could be a little difficult. Maybe we can get our hands on some of their high tech they’ve got. We’ve got to find Beverly first. Who knows what they could be doing to her.”

To Be Continued…

A/N: What do you think? Let me know! Thanks!


	3. Impossible Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna are reunited with Doctor Crusher, who is taking the role of one of her ancestors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Star Trek characters aren't mine. But I do own Laura.

April 19th, 2011

Area 51: Secret Medical Facility

The door slowly opened up, I quickly grabbed for a scalpel in one of the drawers. I lowered it when I saw it was only Beverly.

“Whoa, it’s only me. Are the two of you alright?”

Putting the scalpel back in the drawer I got discreetly, a soldier entered the room with Beverly. Sighing, I looked at her with a hard to read expression. 

“You have 20 minutes with these two.”

The solider assumed his position outside the room. I was cautious at first. 

“I’ve been poked, prodded and examined in places I’d rather not have someone being. I got the worst of it. Deanna’s been hooked up to these ancient machines for the past four days. I think they are on to us doctor.”

I sat up on my bed and watched as Beverly pressed a bunch of buttons on the fetal heart monitor next to the bed. She lowered her voice and looked at the two of us.

“This monitor is slightly off. There. You know why we feel so sluggish? Tired? It’s because they’ve been giving us horse tranquilizers. Deanna how do you feel?”

I watched her shake her head. She hadn’t been doing too well since yesterday.

“I feel like my lungs are water-logged. Do you think these horse tranquilizers will hurt my baby?”

Beverly shook her head, she was uncertain. 

“I’m not exactly sure, with their ancient technology it could take a while to screen for foreign toxins in the body. Although I would likely think the placental/blood barrier should protect your baby. They’ve kept you immobile in this bed for four days?”

I gave Deanna’s hand a squeeze and she nodded her head yes.

“Yes, and as you can see, they have me hooked up to every machine possible except a Dialysis machine.”

I gave Deanna a confused look.

“What’s a Dialysis machine?”

Beverly clued me in as she pulled the covers back and had Deanna turn on her side. 

“You’ve already got bedsores. A Dialysis machine was used in this century to help clean the body of toxins when a person didn’t have Kidneys. These doctors don’t realize what they are doing to you Deanna. By keeping you in this bed, immobile as it may be, your body is exhausted and they’ve caused Pneumonia to settle in. That’s why your lungs feel so water-logged. Now this oxygen intake valve says that you are on 75 percent oxygen. When was the last time someone changed your catheter and the bag?”

A puzzled look crossed Deanna’s face as she tried sitting up. 

“I’m not quite sure, four or five hour’s maybe? Why?”

Beverly shook her head and went rummaging through various drawers and put a pair of gloves on, the thin tubing in her hands. She took a plastic instrument with no needle on the end and stuck it in an opening on the tubing. 

“Take a deep breath in Deanna and let it out slowly.”

I grabbed for Deanna’s hand and kept my left hand there. Squeezing it I watched as the old catheter came out. 

“All the doctors keep telling me that. Why?”

Beverly smiled as she finished putting the new catheter in and replaced the old bag throwing it into a waste bin by the door with a glaring red bag that read: Bio-hazardous Materials Only. 

“Taking deep breaths relaxes the muscles in the body. There’s one more thing I want to do before they take me back my room. It won’t be uncomfortable this time I promise. This won’t hurt.”

I watched as she peeled off the gloves she’d been wearing and tossed them into the same waste bin she’d thrown the tubing in and used bag in. She rummaged through the top drawer of a cabinet and found what she was looking for. 

“Oh, one of those again. What is that anyways?”

Beverly smiled at the both of us and put the instruments earpieces into her ears while the round part went up to Deanna’s stomach. 

“The baby’s heart sounds good, correlating with the machine, holding at 137. The placental blood flow sounds good too. This is what they called a Stethoscope. It amplified sounds not easily heard by the human ear. I took an extra-credit course while I was in medical school. We were taught how to utilize all of this equipment in this room. In case we encountered similar machines in other places. I’ll speak with the other doctors, see if we can get this catheter out of you and up and about. Your lungs need to dry out. It’ll only get worse if you are confined to your bed all the time. Is there anything else I should know about before I go?”

Deanna nodded her head yes and moved slightly in the bed, wincing a little. 

“Actually, my hips have been bothering me since we got here.”

Beverly nodded her head and pulled the blankets back one more time. 

“Probably from the swelling in your legs. I’ll ask the doctors if they can get you something to cushion your lower back. The weight of the baby is also putting stress on your hip joints. Something soft to lay on usually relieves the fluid build-up. I recommend walking once I can get these doctors to at least listen to what I have to say.”

The soldier that’d brought Beverly in opened up the door and took her roughly by the arm.

“Times up doc. Say good-bye to your brother and his wife.”

I restrained myself from going after the soldier who shoved Beverly roughly out of the doorway. I felt Deanna’s hand on my own, turning back, I looked into her eyes, they held exhaustion, and the rings under her eyes weren’t any better. 

“Will don’t. These men have guns. Bullets are permanent. At least with phasers, they can be set on stun at the lowest setting and not cause permanent damage.”

I nodded my head and kissed her hand. I looked up at the flat rectangular screen attached to the wall. 

“A television. Wonder what people watched in the 21st century? There should be something called a remote around here somewhere…”

Deanna smiled tiredly at me and pointed to the drawer on the bedside table.

“The remote is in the drawer right there.”

Grabbing for the remote I pressed a button with a symbol that looked like a half circle with a line through the middle. The screen came to life. A blurry of images and voices came on over it.

“…This is CNN… Heavy fighting in the Middle East tonight as American troops continue their fight against the War on Terror…”

I knit my eyebrows together and thought for a moment.

“This must be the second Iraq war. The first was Desert Storm. Details are a bit vague on what happened. Let’s see if we can find something else on tv.”

Flipping through the channels I found a salesperson talking about a very expensive ring on a mannequin’s finger.

“…as you can see here, this 6 karat 16 diamond encrusted wedding ring is an absolute stunner and a must have for any woman. Today only we have an affordable price of $9,999. 

The payment options are listed on your screen, and a customer service representative is standing by to take your call now…”

I whistled and looked at the ring momentarily. 

“Wow. People would pay excessive money for that many diamonds?” 

I heard Deanna laugh softly on the bed, her eyes were slowly closing. 

“Diamonds were a girl’s best friend. Some women anyways, I’ve never really been attracted to such materiality as jewelry.”

I stopped flipping through the channels momentarily and kissed Deanna on the forehead.

“Goodnight Imzadi. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.” 

Deanna smiled a little and placed a hand over her stomach. Her smile disappeared for a moment and she groaned.

“Sweetheart, it’s time for sleep now. Mommy’s tired.”

I placed a hand on hers and turned the tv off. I could feel the strong pitter patter of tiny feet protesting Deanna’s wishes. 

“Mommy’s right honey, its time for sleep now. We’ll play again later.”

I curled up in bed next to Deanna, and soon I was asleep. This place was impossible to escape.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	4. A Little Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna get a little freedom from their room in a common area, and later they get a little scare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own Star Trek characters. But I do own Laura.

Chapter 4: A Little Freedom

 

“I don’t see why I need a wheelchair, I can walk. I understand the need for the portable heart monitor for the baby, though I don’t feel it’s necessary.”

Deanna was frustrated, I could tell, and her thoughts were equally more so. I nodded and sat down at the small metal table which could possibly only hold three people. 

“I understand your frustration sweetheart. But this is just to make sure the baby is healthy and doing alright.”

She waved her hand as if to dismiss the very fact, then she lowered her voice so that the soldiers in the room couldn’t hear our conversation.

“Alright, but you would think they would at least allow me to have something with chocolate in it. That’s all I’ve been craving since we got here.” 

I smiled and shook my head.

“In this century, all their desserts aren’t replicated, they are the real thing. The sugar wouldn’t be good for you.”

I watched as she took my hand and hoisted herself up from the wheelchair. 

“Excuse me gentlemen, is it possible for me to get some chocolate ice cream?”

One of the soldiers cracked a smile and laughed a little.

“My wife loves chocolate ice cream too. I’ll see what I can do.”

A smile spread across Deanna’s face, the first genuine one I’d seen her give someone else in days. 

“Thank-you.”

The soldier nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Deanna stretched a little and took my hand and stayed on her feet. Shifting her weight a little, she took in the sights of this pretty much barren warehouse-like room. It was huge, and there wasn’t much in the way of things to do, other than to eat or play pool. Or watch television. I noticed some of the soldiers were watching Deanna with curiosity. I narrowed my eyes at them, but they completely ignored me. She knew they were watching her.

“Can I help you gentlemen? What? You’ve never seen a pregnant woman before?”

One of the men just turned a shade or two red.

“Yes, but we’ve just never seen anyone like you before.”

Deanna’s attention was concentrated on the large American flag above our heads. 

“50 stars. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one of these. I remember seeing one in the computer banks on the Enterprise with 52 stars.”

She smiled at me and squeezed my hand. 

“What do the thirteen red and white stripes stand for?”

I stared up at the flag and thought, it was so long ago since I’d heard about Earth’s past.

“The stripes represent the original 13 American Colonies during the 18th century.”

We heard laughter behind us, turning to look, there was a group of soldiers huddled around two tables and looked as if they were playing Poker. A smile spread across my face. 

This could be my lucky day. Taking Deanna’s hand, I led her over to the table’s in which the soldiers were sitting. 

“May we join you?”

Deanna squeezed my hand as the soldiers stood up as I helped her into a chair. Three months left, and she was doing surprisingly well for us being stuck in the 21st century. 

“Of course. Tell me Mr. Riker, how good are you at Poker?”

My smile stayed plastered on my face. 

“I’ve won a couple of high-stakes games.”

I watched as the soldier next to me on my right dealt the cards out. I smiled as I picked the first card up. 

“I’ll raise you ten.”

Deanna’s smile grew. Some of the other men at the table were making small talk. I was never very good making small-talk, especially at parties. 

“…What are we doing here Wallens? We should be helping the boys in the East win the war.”

The one next to me was the one whose name was Wallens. He turned to me and smiled.

“You got family in the military Riker?”

I stroked my beard and nodded my head. My great-great-great grandfather was a Marine. Playing it down, I picked up another card.

“My father is a general in the Marines. We were stationed at a base up in Alaska. I was born at the base hospital, my mother was a doctor on the base. She died when I was two. An explosion on the base, she died in the line of duty.”

Wallens gave me a tight-lipped smile.

“Sounds like your mother was a brave and honorable woman, who served her country well. Where’s your dad now?”

I thought for a minute, then it dawned on me. 

“He suffered a stroke and is being cared for at Fort Madigan.”

Wallens nodded his head and slapped my back. 

“So, what about you Riker? What branch of the military are you?”

I shook my head no.

“I unfortunately am just a civilian. I’d considered joining the Navy, but I’m an Architect. My work takes me all over.”

Deanna looked at me concerned.

“Will, what are you doing?”

I smiled and squeezed her hand once more.

“Covering my tracks Imzadi. All that I’m saying is true. I’m talking about my great-great-great grandfather, his son my great-great grandfather and his mother, my great-great-great grandmother. Luckily my great-great grandfather had my name and looked like me.”

Deanna smiled and looked at Wallens. He turned his questions to her.

“What about you?”

The smile never left her face as she played her cards. 

“Army Psychologist dealing in PTSD for war veterans.”

I kept my hand in Deanna’s.

“He’s digging, no more info on us.”

Deanna kept her cards in one hand while she checked the monitor she’d set on the floor. I glanced at it, the baby’s heart rate was holding at 139. Wallens smiled at the both of us. 

“If you win Riker, I’ll wage you a week’s worth of my C-rations. God knows your wife needs all the food she can get.”

I nodded my head and smiled at my cards. 

“Full house Wallens. You owe me your C-rations and 50 bucks.”

I started collecting the poker chips as Wallens pulled a 50 dollar bill from his pocket. 

“You’re good Riker. You cleaned me out. What’s your strategy?”

I shook my head no and shook hands with Wallens.

“Secret. Thank-you gentlemen for a rousing game. I think it’s time my wife and I retire for the night.”

All the men at the table stood up as Deanna hoisted herself up from the chair. Taking her hand, I helped her back into the wheelchair we’d come to the common area/cafeteria with. She was smoothing out her dress as we got back to the room. Helping her back into bed, I noticed the color had drained from her face.

“What’s wrong Imzadi?”

She shook her head and grabbed for the glass of water on the side table.

“Just a little tired. I just need some rest. You know, Wallens feelings of goodwill towards us are genuine. He doesn’t seem to be hiding anything from us. But I would advise caution. There are others around him that are suspicious of us. For instance, the soldier with the jet black hair and green eyes is very distrustful of our identities. There’s something else here Will. Not so much feelings as it is a presence. I can’t describe it other than its very close.”

I took her hand as she tucked the covers around herself. 

“Let me call Beverly, she should come and check on you.”

She nodded her head and closed her eyes. They’d given us a bigger room, the other doctors, with a door connecting Beverly’s room with ours. I saw the tired smile on her face and went towards the door and knocked on it. The door opened up and Beverly’s face peeked from around it.

“Will what’s wrong?”

I took her hand and pulled her into the room. 

“She’s looking a little pale.”

Beverly sat down in the chair next to the bed and put the back of her hand up to Deanna’s forehead. 

“She’s not running a fever. My guess is that she needs more rest. There are a lot of germs and bacteria in this century. The common cold is still a virus that people are constantly coming down with. Keeping things clean is essential. But it can also backfire if a person isn’t exposed to different bacteria’s. She needs plenty of rest. The baby is taking everything from her, including her energy.”

I watched as she took Deanna’s pulse. 

“Thready, but it should come back up with some sleep. She needs to eat, according to this monitor, her blood sugar has fallen. She’s on the verge of Gestational Diabetes. Whatever you do, don’t let her have chocolate ice cream or any sweets from this time. The sugar would make her blood sugar levels skyrocket and then where’d we be? Insulin would have to be administered. Don’t let her have the sugar. No matter how much she protests or begs you. That’s an order as her Physician.”

I nodded my head and ran a hand over her forehead and hair. She turned onto her side and sighed. 

“The cook should be bringing in some food in a few minutes.”

I kissed Deanna’s forehead. She was fast asleep, so Beverly and whispered.

“She said her hips are still bothering her.”

Beverly nodded her head in agreement.

“She needs to start staying off her feet more often now. We both know how stubborn she is though. She wants to keep going no matter what. Come and get me if you need anything else. You know you can always reach me.”

Nodding my head I placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Thank-you Beverly. Deanna and I appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”

Suddenly, Q showed up in a bright flash of light, waking Deanna in the process. 

“Ah Riker, Counselor Troi, you think that what you’ve been through the last month was terrible, just terrible, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

With the snap of his fingers, the expression on Deanna’s face changed and I saw her hands grip the sides of the bed with iron fists. Her thoughts were being aimed at me full force.

“Q don’t do this! It’s too soon! The baby needs three more months!”

Q shook his head and clucked his tongue against his teeth. 

“With that I take my leave, for now. Let’s see what a few minutes of chaos in this century brings you. This primitive Earth culture is about to become very real for the two of you. And it isn’t pretty.”

Another flash, and he disappeared. A few steps away was Beverly’s door to her room. One hand in Deanna’s, I pounded on her door with my fist. She quickly opened it with a worried expression on her face. 

“What is it Will?”

But before I could answer, Deanna did for me.

“Beverly, this can’t be happening now, its too soon!”

Beverly’s eyes widened in fear. Running a hand through her hair, she went down a checklist out loud of things that were going to happen.

“Ok you two, let’s not panic here. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. That’s a girl. There are two options here, and I go with the latter, but hear me out. Option number one: we let the three stages of labor occur: Latent Phase, Hard Labor and Delivery. Or option number two: we give you something to reverse labor. In this time frame I believe it’s Terbutaline.”

Deanna and I both nodded our head at Beverly, speaking at the same time.

“Option 2.” 

Beverly nodded her head once more and went rummaging through a drawer on the left side of Deanna. Finding what she was looking for, she pulled from the drawer, a capped syringe.

“Ah ha. Got it!”

Pulling the cap off with her teeth, she dropped it on the floor. 

“Make a fist for me Deanna. I don’t want to roll the vein. Although I don’t think that’s possible with you. You have such fine and tiny veins. There. Give it at least ten minutes before it starts to kick in. It’s best not to try and move ok?”

Deanna nodded her head slowly and gripped my hand. Beverly sat on the other side of the bed and held onto her left hand. 

“Baby’s heart rate keeping steady at 139. How do you feel?”

I kissed Deanna’s forehead and saw her nod her head with a small smile of relief.

“Much better, thank-you Beverly.”

Smiling, she squeezed Deanna’s hand and placed a hand on my shoulder. 

“Well, crisis averted. I’ve done my job here. Call me Will, for the slightest thing. We’ve got three months to go still, and I don’t like to put it in this centuries terms, but she’s in very fragile condition. Watch her carefully.”

Deanna crossed her arms over her chest.

“Beverly, I’m not an invalid you know.”

Beverly smiled and gave Deanna’s hand another squeeze.

“I know, but we have to play the role for this time period. You should rest.”

With that, the both of us watched Beverly leave the room and shut the door to her own. Sinking into the bed next to Deanna under the covers, I blew out a breath and placed a hand over her baby belly.

“Crisis averted Imzadi. You gave mommy and daddy quite a scare there little one. It’s not time to come out yet.”

A strong kick of protest followed my answer. Deanna gave sort of a snort.

“Stubborn like her father.”

My eyes widened and I gave her a smile.

“I take that as a compliment. Her? You think its going to be a girl?”

There was some mystery behind Deanna’s eyes I’d never seen before.

“Women know these things Will. I just have this strong sense that this baby is a girl.”

I chuckled and closed my eyes. 

“Then who am I to argue with you? It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl, just as long as its healthy. You know that.”

Deanna nodded her head and yawned. Closing my eyes once more I let my thoughts slowly help me drift off to sleep. Crisis averted, indeed.

 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	5. More Mysteries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna encounter an alien ship from the Beta Tli System, and later, the doctors grow tired of listening to Doctor Crusher's orders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura.

 

“How is this possible? How do the people of Earth in this century have an alien from the Beta Tli system?”

Huh. The Beta Tli System. I ran a hand over the round-looking ship. It was held in place and upright by some sort of docking clamps. Deanna had her arms crossed just over her belly and was shaking her head. 

“Will did you even bother to read the signs on the door clearly marked: ‘Restricted Area: Keep Out. Air Force Personnel Only’? I know you are looking for some sort of panel to open the hatch on this. I’d advise against that.”

I turned around and looked at Deanna and gave a smile.

“This is a piece of history Imzadi. We’ve never seen one of these ships up close before.”

I was interrupted by Beverly just behind Deanna.

“She’s right Will. In our century since this place is a museum, they’ve removed the alien’s body. In this century, the government can’t even figure out how to open the hatch. The body of that alien has been inside this ship since 1947. Let’s go Will. Deanna needs to be back in her room. Three weeks to go and she needs to be off her feet.”

Sighing, I stepped away from the ship. An alarm started to go off, and a red light began to flash. Helping Deanna back into the wheelchair the three of us quickly found a door and exited the room housing the alien ship. Now just a few short steps away from our room, I looked around the corner to make sure there were no soldiers parading the hallway. Looking back at Beverly and Deanna around the corner, I motioned for them to file into our room. 

“All the soldiers must be converging on the room where the alien ship is. You know, that white lab coat doesn’t look too bad on you Beverly.”

She was helping Deanna back into bed and placing the fetal heart monitor back around her stomach. I watched as they laughed a little. But it was Beverly’s voice that spoke first.

“Look at that foot testing out the space. Not that there is much space in there. Someone is probably pretty eager to come out.”

I shut my eyes and tried not to grit my teeth as Doctor Sartos came into the room with four other doctors trailing behind her.

“We’ve waited long enough Doctor Howard. We need to induce labor today. Within the next 20 minutes. The baby is more than large enough now to be delivered.”

Beverly only shook her head. 

“You don’t understand, I keep telling you, inducing labor would only be detrimental to the both of them.”

Doctor Sartos and Beverly both had tempers, but Beverly could get quite loud when she was fighting for the safety and health of a patient. 

“How is that detrimental Doctor Howard? She’s 41 weeks. One week over-due. Is there something else the three of you aren’t telling me?”

I kept my mouth closed until a nurse got a fresh catheter out of one of the drawers. I went on the right side of Deanna and Beverly on the left. 

“Don’t touch her.”

The nurse stopped what she was doing and Doctor Sartos kept the frown on her face. 

“Excuse me but you do realize that by leaving this baby inside the womb for longer than necessary can do more harm than not. We need to induce labor, now.”

It was Beverly’s turn to argue. 

“I am her attending Physician, and you are not hearing me! Inducing labor would be harmful for the baby. Believe me when I say, the baby isn’t ready to greet the world yet. Three weeks, that’s all I’m asking.”

I saw Deanna shaking her head as both Beverly and Doctor Sartos kept arguing. Throwing her hands up, she then crossed them over her chest.

“Nobody bothered to ask me what I want? What’s best for me?”

The silence in the room began, and it was deafening. 

“Deanna I really think that we should induce labor, if you don’t have any objections?”

I shook my head no and watched as Deanna pulled her legs towards herself. 

“I’ve about had it with all of you! For the last three and a half months we’ve put up with all the poking and prodding and needle sticks. We’re done.”

The nurse tried to go back to what she was doing with the catheter. 

“Don’t touch me. You just keep going with what you’re doing. You didn’t ask me what I wanted, whether I wanted to go through with this or not. The answer is no. I’m not ready yet, and neither is my baby.”

Doctor Sartos tried to regain our trust, but it wasn’t going to be that easy. My guard up, I listened to what she said.

“That baby, your baby has human DNA, but also that of an alien not of this world. Don’t you see what we are trying to accomplish here? It is imperative that you cooperate with us, we promise that no harm will come to you or your baby. Get her started on some Magnesium.”

The four doctors, including Doctor Sartos left the room, once the last nurse left, Beverly shook her head in disgust.

“Magnesium? Ugh, that stuff makes a woman feel like crap, to use their term for it. I remember, I was on it while I was carrying Wesley. You can’t keep food down, and you are constantly vomiting all the time.”

I ran a hand through Deanna’s dark curls. 

“Well I’m not going to stand for this, you told me that her Magnesium levels were where they should be when we were aboard the Enterprise. Can you take the needle out before the Magnesium starts to affect her system?”

Beverly sat down and carefully tried to figure out a way to get the needle out. Shaking her head, she took her hands away from the needle in Deanna’s arm. 

“The problem with this picture is that they’ve got it mixed in with the liquid saline flowing through her veins. Maybe I can find a way to extract the Magnesium from the saline solution.”

She dug through a couple of drawers trying to find something to extract the Magnesium. I put a hand in Deanna’s and watched as she knit her forehead in confusion. 

“Will, Beverly, I don’t feel well… There’s a strange taste in the back of my throat, and there’s pain in my chest…”

Beverly began going through drawers looking for something else. I saw Deanna’s eyes begin to shut and I patted her hand to make her open her eyes.

“Deanna, look at me Imzadi, open your eyes for me.”

Beverly had turned and was now holding two capped syringes in her left hand.

“She’s having an allergic reaction to the Magnesium. When I count to three Will, I want you to place the cotton ball on the area where the needle was. I’m going to pull it out.  
1-2-3. Put pressure at the elbow crease.”

I put the cotton ball on top of the point where the needle had been. 

“What’s the smaller syringe for?”

Beverly uncapped the syringe and inserted it into the vein on Deanna’s left arm.

“Epinephrine. It’ll help her lungs and her throat open up, but she’ll still need oxygen for at least another 20 minutes before she acclimates to room air.”

I watched as Deanna gasped for breath and waited for the oxygen in her nose to take effect. Beverly added one more thing before Deanna spoke.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to use the Adrenaline. That was the bigger of the two syringes.”

Deanna looked exhausted, I didn’t blame her. I wiped the sweat from her brow. 

“I don’t think I can take this much longer, we get thrown in the past, and I’m the pin cushion. Our baby being the focal point of all this secret under wraps alien testing that is going on in this government facility. What happened to me?”

Beverly sat down on the left hand side of Deanna’s bed. 

“You had an allergic reaction to the Magnesium Deanna, but you’re alright now. I promise I’ll buy you more time. I won’t let them induce labor on you. Inducing labor would cause the baby respiratory distress and heart palpitations. The baby simply needs three more weeks.”

We both nodded our heads in seriousness. My hand went over Deanna’s on top of her baby belly.

“What would’ve happened if Deanna had stopped breathing for several minutes?”

Beverly put her hand on top of Deanna’s. 

“Will, the baby’s heart rate would drop below 80 and then a C-section would be absolutely necessary. She would have to be in an incubator for at least a week before her lungs were strong enough to endure room air.”

I saw Beverly shake her head with a small smile on her face. 

“Sometimes, I can’t keep my mouth closed.”

A smile erupted on my face.

“So, we are having a girl. Laura Jane Riker-Troi it is then.”

Deanna and I both smiled at each other and went in for a kiss. This day had gone from bad to a calm and normal moment being stuck in this century. Beverly had gone back to her  
room next door while I got under the covers with Deanna. She moved to try and get comfortable.

“Why are these beds so lumpy? And hard? I think the only thing that’s cushioning me right now is the cushion under my hips.”

I ran a hand over her forehead and kissed it. 

“Well, as soon as Q is done with his little game here, we’ll go back to Enterprise and be able to be in our nice big King-sized bed. Hopefully, you can give birth on the Enterprise. Something just doesn’t feel right about this Imzadi.”

Deanna nodded her head and kept her hand on top of her baby belly.

“I’ve had that same feeling for the last three days. Is it just me or is Doctor Sartos sizing me up for something? She said and I quote: ‘no harm will come to you or your baby. We promise.’ She wasn’t exactly being truthful.”

My hand still over hers, I gave her a smile.

“Not to worry, I won’t let anything happen to you or Laura. You’re safe with me.”

I found it strange that we had a long and rectangular mirror, window-like on the other side of the room, and little did I know, Doctor Sartos and a few other doctors were watching us from the other side. 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks! Sorry it’s taken so long to update.


	6. Support Beams and Miracles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna witness the birth of their daughter Laura, but the end result is heartbreaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura.

August 15th, 2011

Area 51: Secret Medical Facility

“She’s been in the bathroom for a really long time, I should check on her.”

Beverly followed me to the bathroom door and I knocked.

“Deanna it’s me, you alright in there?”

The door to the bathroom opened up and Deanna’s face was devoid of any color. Her right hand gripped the porcelain countertop while the left rested under her enormous baby belly. I could tell she’d been crying. Beverly jumped into the conversation.

“Ok, everybody relax. How far apart are your contractions Deanna?”

Deanna shook her head and grabbed for my hand as I helped her towards the bed. 

“I don’t know, that was my first one.”

Her dark eyes locked onto my blue ones and I tucked the blankets around her. A smile spread across my face. 

“We are each other’s support beams. Laura is a miracle.”

It was true, Laura was our miracle. We’d had trouble conceiving the last couple of years, and after two miscarriages, we’d lost almost all hope, until we found out about Laura. 

Kissing her forehead, I wiped away her stray tears. 

“All I want for her is to be healthy. My mind keeps going over and over what happened to the other two…”

I pulled her into my arms and into a hug.

“Shh. Enough talk about that. That’s all past us now. We have Laura to think about. She needs every ounce of strength her mother can give to bring her into this world.”

Deanna nodded her head and gripped my hand. Beverly sat on the other side of the bed and timed the contraction.

“Coming down now, remember to breathe Deanna. That’s a girl. Contractions almost up to a full minute. We’ll have to wait until the contractions are at least 20 minutes apart before we can give you something for the pain.”

I shook my head and looked Beverly in the eye. 

“This would be so much easier if we were on the Enterprise. A hypospray would do wonders.”

Beverly nodded in agreement and wiped the sweat away from Deanna’s forehead. 

“If only I had my tricorder with me. It would be easy for me to tell how many centimeters dilated you are. But everything in this century is done the hard and uncomfortable way. I’ll be discreet I promise.”

I distracted myself with looking at Deanna straight in the eye.

“You are doing a wonderful job Imzadi. Just think, when this is all over, however long it takes, we’ll have Laura here with us.”

A smile graced her face, and then we both looked at Beverly expectantly.

“4 centimeters. Only 6 more to go before delivery and 2 to go before the beginning stages of hard labor. When you get to 6 we’ll get you some local and an Epidural.”

I sat in the chair on the right side of the bed and kept my hand in Deanna’s. 

“I have a feeling Laura will either be fashionably late, some women are, or she’ll come quickly. I guess we’ll have to wait and let nature take its course.”

Deanna nodded her head and winced. She moved in the bed to get comfortable again. 

“I think the pressure in my hips just increased ten-fold. I wish it were gone already.”

Beverly shook her head and squeezed Deanna’s hand. 

“Don’t worry, once the baby is delivered, the pain will disappear.”

I stifled a yawn and smoothed the hair from Deanna’s forehead once more. She licked her dry lips. 

“I’m thirsty. Can I have some water?”

As I began to pour a glass of water, Beverly shook her head no at me.

“I’m sorry Will, she can’t have water right now. Only ice chips.”

I knit my forehead in confusion. Huh? 

“I’m not sure I follow. Why only ice chips? Why not water?”

Beverly sighed, she didn’t look pleased with the idea either. 

“The ice chips will help keep her cool. With water, her bladder will get full, and she may have an accident during hard labor.”

I nodded my head, but wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“Well I guess if your body can’t control it… Another question for you Beverly, how come her water hasn’t broken yet?”

Beverly rubbed Deanna’s back for a moment as a strong contraction showed up. 

“Don’t forget to breathe Deanna. When she gets to 6 centimeters her water should break. I’m not too worried, everything is progressing along nicely and as it should. This is all about time, and letting Mother Nature take its course.”

Deanna was holding onto me in a vice-like grip and almost looked as if she feared letting go. She was crying, and I could tell she was in a lot of pain. 

“Shh, everything’s going to be alright. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

She shook her head no and wrapped her arms around me.

“No Will, you don’t understand, it hurts, it really hurts!”

Tears began to form in my eyes, and two actually made it down my face. 

“Doctor, get her something for the pain now please…”

Beverly nodded her head and went towards the door and opened it, looking at the soldier standing just outside. 

“Could you get the Anesthesiologist down here please? The patient is in labor and is in need of pain medication.”

The soldier that was in front of Beverly nodded his head seriously, but his eyes held pity. Deanna’s expression changed suddenly, and she gasped. I looked at her as I put a hand   
up to her cheek.

“What is it Imzadi?”

Relief washed over her momentarily.

“My water just broke.”

Beverly shut the door and came over to us in three quick steps. A warm smile adorned her face.

“Won’t be long now, another hour or two at the most. The Anesthesiologist is on their way here. Just try and relax alright?”

I slipped an ice chip into Deanna’s mouth as Beverly pulled back her covers just enough to expose her stomach. Pulling back the hospital gown a little, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“What is this? Where did you get this from?”

Now it was Deanna’s turn to be confused.

“I’m not quite sure. It wasn’t there three days ago.”

There was a spidery-looking bruise marking her stomach just to the left of her belly button. 

“Judging by the markings of this and the pattern, you were connected to some sort of machine. Now for what, I can’t be sure. Come to think of it, there are 6 hours from yesterday neither Will nor I can account for. It’s as if our memories have be erased.”

My guard was instantly up as Beverly pulled the gown back over Deanna’s stomach. I gritted my teeth when I saw Q come into the room with a tray. On it were a couple of syringes. 

“The Pain Management Specialist is here to make all your requests become reality. Now shall we get started?”

All three of us glared at Q. Beverly and I shielded Deanna from Q’s direct vision. He gave an almost sincere smile as he waved a hand over the metal tray and a hypospray appeared in place of the two syringes. He looked straight at Beverly.

“Isn’t this what you were looking for Doctor Crusher? 24th Century tech at your fingertips. Catch. Oh, too bad, guess you’ll have to stick with this century’s technology and the hypospray will have to return to the 24th century. Now where was I? Oh yes, let’s get started.”

The two of us didn’t budge. I was out of patience and I felt my anger boiling over. Then it exploded like a volcano.

“Get out Q! If you so much as try to touch her, you’ll regret it!”

Q only laughed and crossed his arms across his chest.

“Come Riker you know you can’t hurt me. What does this remind me of? Oh yes, the time several years ago when you tried to choke me in Ten-Forward and you accused me not of knowing what it was like to lose a child? What were their names? Those two little girls you were so fond of?”

He’d struck a raw nerve in me and I restrained myself from going after him like before.

“Their names were Jessica and Erica. Don’t you ever forget what you cost me. Now get out Q!”

Q looked rather bored instead of hurt. He stifled a fake yawn and rubbed his nails against his shoulder.

“Oh very well Riker, but I am enjoying this game, and it’s about to get a lot worse before I send you back to your precious Enterprise.”

Q disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced by the real Anesthesiologist. She looked a little confused at first, but then squared her shoulders and gave Deanna a sympathetic smile. 

“I heard someone in here needed an Epidural. I’ll give you the local anesthetic first, and once that kicks in I’ll give you the Epidural. This might pinch a little. Feel free to scream if you’d like. From personal experience I did the same. Now make your back nice and round for me.”

I threaded my arms under Deanna’s armpits and around her upper back. She lay her head on my shoulder and buried her face in my neck like a small child. I did my best to reassure her.

“Shh. It’s alright sweetheart. I’m right here. It’ll be over soon.”

Soon, her sobs became quiet and I’m not sure if it was all the emotional shifting that was going on but suddenly she became angry. Not at me, but at Q. 

“I want out of this place now! I want to go home! I want to wring my hands around Q’s neck! He thinks this game is funny! Well I don’t!”

Her whole body tensed against my embrace. The Anesthesiologist at her backside stopped for a minute and waited.

“Deanna I can’t give you the Epidural unless you relax.”

She nodded her head and buried her face in my neck and sobbed once more, trying to stifle a scream. I rubbed her upper back in large sweeping circles to try and keep her relaxed and focused on me.

“Shh, I’m right here. You’ll feel better before you know it. Everything’s going to be alright. I’ve got you.”

It was twenty minutes before she was completely relaxed. Then I realized by her even-toned breathing that she was asleep. The Anesthesiologist was now gone, and it was just the three of us again. Beverly and I carefully helped Deanna lean back against the pillows. 

“Women really went through this with multiple children?”

Beverly nodded her head somberly and shifted Deanna a little.

“Epidurals in syringe-form were the standard practice of the time. At least you two are having one for now. I remember reading somewhere while I was in medical school, a woman went into labor with a set of Septuplets. The doctors had insisted that she have a scheduled C-Section. She refused saying: ‘I want to deliver my babies naturally. I have that right as a woman.’ The doctors didn’t argue with her, but advised against it. In a 96 hour time period of hard labor, she delivered 7 healthy girls. All naturally.”

I sat back for a moment, feeling a little dumbfounded. 

“She must’ve been a very strong woman to go through that. What did her husband think?”

Beverly shook her head.

“Single mother. Her husband left her when they ran into fertility issues. That was 15 years ago… Deanna should sleep a little. At least in between contractions. Hard labor is going to drain her. She’s not feeling anymore pain from the contractions at least, but she will feel the pressure and the need to push very soon.”

I nodded my head thoughtfully and wiped more sweat from Deanna’s brow. I fixed the oxygen in her nose. Beverly looked under the sheet at the needle in Deanna’s back. 

“She’s not in any more pain?”

Beverly shook her head no and gave me a smile.

“No, she’s not. That’s a good thing. Hard labor without drugs can be extremely painful as you’ve already seen. Interesting, she placed the Epidural strategically into the muscle. The Anesthesiologist.”

There was nothing Beverly or I could do but wait. It was another hour before Deanna opened up her eyes wide and she looked from me, to Beverly and then back to me again. 

“What? What is it? Do you feel the need to push?”

Deanna nodded her head at Beverly and grabbed for my hands. The four nameless doctors and Doctor Sartos burst into the room suddenly. 

“Times up Doctor Howard, you’ve been holding the reins on this situation long enough. My turn. Help her scoot to the edge of the bed. Well come on, this baby is coming like a freight train, we don’t have all day!”

The two of us noticed a complete change in Doctor Sartos. She’d become more irritated, and on edge as of late. Beverly did as she was told, but narrowed her eyes at Doctor Sartos. 

“Your bedside manner needs some work Doctor Sartos. The way you treat me is your business, but you treat the patient with respect and care. She is your number one priority. You have two lives hanging in the balance here.”

Doctor Sartos hardened her eyes at Beverly, and I could feel a fight coming on, but nothing happened. Instead, turning to the business at hand she assumed her position in front of Deanna on the edge of the bed.

“Give me six strong pushes and your baby will be out. Big push now. That’s it! Keep going. Keep going. Three, almost there, here come the shoulders. Three more. Come on, you can do this. One more. That’s it! It’s a girl! Interesting, she looks like a human.”

I was irritated by the fact that there were soldiers parading the room as if this were nothing. She cut the umbilical cord with a pair of surgical scissors and handed Laura off to a nurse.

“Take her down the hall. Take a blood sample from her and get her hooked up on monitors. Warm her up and give her a bath.”

Deanna was quiet, but I could see the tears streaming down her face, like her whole world had just fallen apart. I tried going after the nurse, but a soldier by the door hit me over the head with the butt of his rifle and I fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I don’t know how long I sat lying on the floor, but Doctor Sartos and the other doctors had left the room, now having delivered the afterbirth. Beverly had placed the sheet back over Deanna’s legs and helped free them from the stirrups. Through blurred vision, I saw her pulled Deanna into a hug. Her sobs ripped through my soul like a jagged knife. Beverly’s voice was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.

“Shh. We’ll get Laura back Deanna. They have no right to keep her.”

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	7. Doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna are reunited with Laura, and Will is reunited with four other children from different time periods in his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters.

“Will come on, wake up. Open your eyes for me, that’s it.”

My eyes fluttered open as I heard the sound of Beverly’s voice. I heard the constant long beeping of a machine coming from the side of Deanna’s bed. I tried to clear the fuzzy feeling from my brain and managed to sit up with a groan. Coughing, I cleared my throat.

“What’s going on?”

Beverly was already attending to Deanna on the bed. 

“Deanna can you hear me? Open your eyes for me Deanna. Come on. No pain response. No breath sounds and no heartbeat.”

My mind went blank for a moment as everything around me seemed to freeze. My eyes followed Beverly as she rolled a portable machine over to the bed. 

“What’s that?”

Beverly looked at me for a second as she turned on the machine. There was a whirring sound.

“A crude version of a cortical stimulator. It’s a Defibrillator and it gets the heart beating again. Clear!”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I saw Deanna’s still form jump slightly in the bed from the electrical shock. The heart monitor she was hooked up to started beeping again,  
and the lines on the machine went up and down, registering her heartbeat. I managed to get to my feet and over to Deanna. Sinking down into the chair next to the bed, I reached a hand up to her cheek and rested it there.

“You had us worried there for a second Imzadi. Welcome back.”

The smile disappeared from her face and she turned away from me, rolling up in a fetal position as much as she could and began to cry again. Turning over so that she was facing me, she sat up in the bed and wiped her tears from her face with a tissue. 

“Nothing and no one is going to stop me from getting Laura back. Let’s go get her. Coming you two?”

Deanna had managed to get out of bed. I didn’t argue with her. She had every right to be angry.

“Imzadi sweetheart, would you like to change into some clothes first before we go looking for our daughter?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This facility is bigger than I thought. Bigger than we all thought. It was enormous! We’d gone from room to room searching for clues. We hid behind an unlocked door when we heard the voices of two doctors coming down the hallway.

“See if you can figure out what kind of respiratory illness Jessica Riker has. Examine her again, there may be something we missed.”

My breath caught in my throat. Jessica? It couldn’t be… I swallowed the hard lump in my throat and continued forward as the two doctors disappeared down the hallway. Coming to the door they’d come out of, we found that the room was empty, except for several babies in basinets. Beverly pushed the door open and the three of us went inside. All the basinets had names on them. Laura was in the first. Beverly picked her up and placed her into Deanna’s arms. Laura seemed to know right away whom her mother was.

“Hello little one. I’m your mommy.”

Laura seemed content in Deanna’s arms, she let out a rather loud yawn and snuggled closer to her. I looked into the second basinet and looked at the tiny baby lying in it. The eyebrows are mine, the nose, even the mouth. This really is my Jessica. Tears began to form at the corners of my eyes.

“Jessica, sweetheart, what in the world are you doing here?”

I carefully picked her up and a smile spread across her face. She couldn’t have been more than a month old. I’d never held Jessica as a baby before. Just my ‘brother’ Thomas did. He’d been created in a freak transporter accident, resulting in two of me. I shut my eyes and held Jessica close for a few minutes.

“She already has Ryerson Syndrome, and so young…”

A memory passed through my mind as I set her back in the basinet. ‘Catch me daddy!’ A smile spread across my face as I rubbed Jessica’s tiny tummy. 

“Daddy did catch you sweetheart.”

I knew that I couldn’t mess with the course her life was taking. It would alter events in the timeline. I couldn’t do that, however painful it was for me. The third basinet held Erica. Her squirming form suggested she was at least 2 or three months older than Jessica, which meant that they were snatched from different time periods. I felt Beverly’s hand on my shoulder and listened as she spoke.

“With the exception of Laura, Will, all four of these little girls are at the mercy of time itself. We already know what happens to each of them. Jessica and Erica are caught in the middle of a Cardassian raid, Megan dies of Congestive Heart Failure, and Hope, well, we know what happened to her. What’s strange though is, why are they here to begin with? There must be some sort of temporal distortion field somewhere around here…”

At least I’d have a little more time with all three of my girls, and maybe right two accidents while working as an intern at Starfleet Medical.

 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	8. Confusion and Temporal Distortions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna get to spend a few precious minutes with Laura, and something goes terribly wrong, resulting in Deanna needing surgery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura, Jessica, Erica, Megan and Hope.

“How did they get ahold of my medical tricorder…?”

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Beverly in confusion.

“A temporal distortion in this room? Maybe?”

Her eyes locked onto the tricorder on the table top. I saw her reach out for it and open it up.

“Heh, it still works! Laura seems to be doing well. Lungs and heart sound good. Good reflexes. Auditory functions intact. Laura is healthy. On to the other four. Hmm… Just as I thought, Jessica does have Ryerson Syndrome, but instead of being diagnosed with it at 2 years and 3 weeks, she is diagnosed with it at 4 weeks old. Megan’s got a heart valve problem. Not showing any signs of Congestive Heart Failure… Yet. They’ve got her on oxygen and a heart monitor, but there isn’t much to do right now. Hope is the one whom is worse off than Megan or Jessica. They’ve got her on presser’s. All these machines are keeping her alive. The tiny tubing running from her nose to that machine in the corner over there is keeping her lungs functioning. She’s going to have a scar in her arm from the needle that’s giving her Saline.”

Beverly shut the tricorder and placed it back onto the table. Her right hand grazed the top of Hope’s tiny head. With the left on Megan’s. Shaking her head, she sighed.

“Only two healthy babies out of five. They should all be healthy.”

Hope began to cry in the basinet on the far right. I’d never heard her cry before. Her tiny bottom lip was trembling. Beverly quickly scooped her up and sat down on a stool next to the plastic basinet. 

“Will, she’s cold, can you hand me that blanket over there?”

I nodded my head and quickly got the blanket for Beverly. She carefully draped it over her shoulder and Hope.

“What are you doing?”

A smile spread across her face.

“I’m using my body heat and the blanket to warm her up.”

I nodded my head and looked at Jessica who was staring up and smiling at me. She knew who I was. It was hard to believe that she was actually here. Turning my attention towards Deanna, I saw Laura begin to cry. She clucked her tongue against her teeth at Laura and carefully placed her into my arms.

“It’s alright sweetheart, here, go with daddy. Hold her head up. There you go. It seems she wanted to be held by daddy. She’s going to be a daddy’s girl.”

Smiling down at Laura, I watched her open and close her mouth in a large ‘O’ like yawn. She was cooing as I held her. 

“That’s my girl. Look at that tiny nose, I can’t tell if it’s your nose or mine…”

I basked in the moment and saw that Laura’s left arm had snaked its way out of her blanket and her tiny hand wrapped around my index finger. She had a good strong grip already. My smile stayed on my face as I looked to Beverly. She was doing her best to get Hope off to sleep. 

“Shh, it’s alright Hope. Just go to sleep now. I’ve got you.”

She kept crying. I’d never heard a baby give a strange cry like that before. A concerned look on my face, I took a step closer to Beverly.

“Why is she crying like that?”

Beverly took the blanket that was draped over her and placed it onto the counter next to her. Shaking her head, she wrapped Hope up in a blanket that was just her size. 

“She sounds like she’s going through some sort of withdrawal from something…”

Furrowing my eyebrows, I became more confused.

“Drugs? But her mother was clean. She would never have subjected herself or her children to such barbarity. Could it be something else that’s bothering her?”

She shook her head once more, and tried rocking her to sleep. 

“Could be something that they are giving her. She’s in a lot of pain. I don’t know what I can do for her.”

Hope suddenly stopped crying. Beverly checked her femoral pulse.

“She’s asleep. It’s so disheartening to hear a newborn cry like that. Drug dependence in mothers is a rarity in the 24th century, but in this time frame, there are many. I just don’t understand why a woman would want to expose her child to something so harmful. What’s worse is, no amount of soothing, diaper changes or feedings will abate that cry. If we were back home, I could slowly get whatever it was out of her system, problem is, in our time she was never alive to begin with. There isn’t anything we can do for her.”

Sighing once again, I looked down at Laura, who was also fast asleep. 

“Like you said Beverly, we cannot interfere with the course their lives are taking. Temporal Prime Directive. No matter how much it pains me that two of my children that have been gone for a little more than a year are right in front of me. Let’s get out of here. The doctors will be back any minute…”

Beverly had placed Hope back into the plastic basinet. I gave Jessica and Erica kisses on their foreheads. 

“Daddy loves both of you.”

Turning on my heel, I noticed Deanna holding onto the metal table next to her while the other held her thinning stomach. 

“Deanna look at me, what’s wrong?”

Her face was pale, and sweat was starting to pour down her face. She was having trouble standing now. Beverly quickly grabbed for her tricorder on the same table. Opening it, she scanned her. Worry began to settle in and a pit was forming in my stomach. Closing the tricorder she put it back on the table.

“She needs to be in surgery now! She’s bleeding internally. If you want more children, we’ll have to act fast.”

It dawned on me what was happening. 

“Delayed onset of uterine hemorrhaging. God, why didn’t I see the signs? How many blood transfusions do you think she will need?”

There was a stretcher nearby and Beverly helped Deanna lie down on it. 

“Will, you have to pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. You are the Architect remember? I’m the doctor here…”

I was frustrated, but I nodded my head. The two doctors entered the room just then, and soldiers piled into the room, their guns drawn on us. I only held Laura closer, trying to  
protect her from these arrogant, paranoid soldiers. The soldier with the jet black hair and the steely gray eyes glared me down.

“Set the child down Mr. Riker. Doctor Stevens and Doctor Carnonson are taking very good care of her. We also know that Laura isn’t your first.”

I kept Laura close and did my best to keep her in my arms. But Doctor Carnonson all but ripped her from my arms. My futile attempts at protecting her had failed. The soldier continued.

“…We took blood samples from Jessica and Erica. It seems they are also yours. What happened to their mother?”

I had to keep playing this role down, even though my patience was paper thin, like rice paper now. I had to make something up.

“Their mother died in a car accident. Look we’re wasting time, Doctor Howard says my wife needs surgery. She’s bleeding internally.”

The arrogant soldier in front of me gave me a smug smile.

“So you say that Jessica and Erica’s mother died in a car accident. Did she give birth before or after the accident?”

I let out a humorless laugh. Who did this man think he was anyways? 

“The paramedics managed to get her out, and she went into labor as they got her out of the car. Jessica and Erica came just after an hour of labor, and she died of internal bleeding and other injuries.”

The soldier seemed to buy my story, but he seemed eager to rip into me. 

“Alright, and your wife will get the best care possible.”

I didn’t see any more after that, because I felt a piercing red hot feeling in the back of my neck. 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	9. Surgery and Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doctor Crusher does her best to save Deanna, and Q gives her a little hand. Will and Deanna are once again reunited with Laura, but in a different way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura. 
> 
> For those of you asking about Jessica, Erica, Megan and Hope: they all had different mother's. Jessica and Erica come from a different timeline. It's explained in another fanfic I wrote called Hard Realities. Megan and Hope are explained in another fanfic called Past Regrets. I shall post those after I finish this fanfic. 
> 
> This chapter is from Doctor Crusher/Riker's POV.

I shook my head as I tried to find the source of where all this blood was coming from. God, it looked like something went off in here! I’d given Deanna a strong sedative so that she’d sleep while we fixed her. I knew that Will would be very concerned over her condition until we successfully finished the surgery. The nurse next to me on the left handed me more towels and I packed them in as best I could. The mask over my face was making me terribly hot. Less than a minute later, the towels were completely soaked with Deanna’s blood. Shaking my head once again, I was beginning to get angry.

“Doctor Jacobson! Where are those lap-pads! I asked you for at least 12!”

Doctor Jacobson became irritated with me but slapped the pads in my hands anyways. 

“I don’t know who lets you bark orders at others at Bethesda, but here in New Mexico, we follow the chain of command, and you answer to me, is that understood Doctor Howard?”

I resisted the urge to start yelling at Doctor Jacobson, this wasn’t the time. Deanna needed our help. Taking a deep breath, I refocused myself, trying to drown out the classical music in the background. 

“Crystal, doctor.”

Another nurse wiped the sweat from my forehead. I looked to Doctor Jacobson.

“How many blood transfusions is that now? 3?”

Doctor Jacobson shook his head and took the soaked towels from me and dropped them on the floor. This century is so disgusting and very unsanitary! This floor is littered with blood-soaked towels. 

“This is transfusion number 4 Doctor Howard. Starting transfusion number 5 will put her back into DIC. I’m making the call, another twenty minutes to try and get the bleeding under control and then we perform a Hysterectomy. No ifs, ands or buts about it Doctor Howard. There’s just too much oozing in the Uterus and she’s lost a lot of blood already. 

At this point, another transfusion would just drain as quickly as we can give it. She’s on her deathbed. Do what you can. I’ll go find a kit…”

I glared up at Doctor Jacobson, he gave up so easily and accepted the worst case scenario. But I refused to believe that this was that worst case scenario. Not yet. Twenty minutes seemed to fly by, and a nurse put a hand on mine, sympathy in her eyes. Doctor Jacobson came back with the kit. This time I couldn’t hold back my anger.

“That’s it? Why do you all give up so easily! We’ve only been working on her for 3 hours and 22 minutes! There’s still time to save her! Nurse get me some more towels, please?”

No one in the room moved a muscle. I let out a humorless laugh. I grabbed a handful of towels and placed them inside Deanna. Grabbing for two Kelley clamps, I tied off two   
bleeders. If they aren’t going to help me, I’ll do it myself! I kept shaking my head. Why isn’t this working?! The blood was beginning to soak the towels I’d just put in there. Doctor   
Jacobson wrapped a large gloved hand around my wrist.

“You’ve done all you can doctor. It’s time… Nurse O-silk please.”

For a moment, I actually saw a glimmer of sympathy and compassion in his eyes. But it was gone just as quickly as he was all business again. I couldn’t stay here any longer. Shaking my head no, I pulled the double gloves off my hands and threw them in the bio-hazard bin by the door. I’d removed the booties from over my shoes and started down the hallway. I’d pulled the mask under my chin. I slowly made my way into Will and Deanna’s room. He was just waking up from whatever the soldier with the jet black hair had given him. His face was full of worry. My hands were shaking. Then I remembered, I must look a sight to him. Looking down at my bloodied scrubs, I shook my head in irritation. 

“…Will there is something I need to tell you…”

I watched as he swallowed a lump in his throat. He shook his head no at me and got out of bed with a groan.

“No… Um… When… W-when did she go?”

Tears were streaming down his face. I put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Will listen to me, she’s not gone. But there is something else that you need to know. I did my best. There was just too much hemorrhaging in the uterus. We gave her 5 blood transfusions. She went into DIC twice. We worked on her for 3 hours and 22 minutes. Doctor Jacobson is performing a Hysterectomy right now… I’m sorry…”

As soon as those words slipped out of my mouth Doctor Jacobson burst into the room, his face filled with genuine surprise. 

“Doctor Howard! I don’t know what you did, but the bleeding has stopped. Doctor Allerson and I will close her up and bring her back here to recover.”

With that Doctor Jacobson was gone again as quickly, I heard his heavy footfalls going down the hallway. Q showed up in a flash, Will had his fists balled up at his sides.

“Well, Doctor Crusher, I think a thank-you is in order for me… I was the one who saved Counselor Troi. And yes Riker, to answer your question that’s on your mind you can still procreate. However revolting the thought is to us Q anyways…”

A smile spread across Will’s face. Then his face turned serious.

“I think I’ve had just about enough of this game Q, you can return us back to the 24th Century now.”

Q sighed and seemed indifferent. 

“Eh, as you wish Riker. Back to the 24th Century and to your miniscule existence.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Another flash, and the three of us found ourselves in Sickbay. There was someone missing though. Laura. I began to panic, looking around the room frantically.

“Where’s Laura? Laura!”

Deanna was sitting on the bio-bed when she suddenly gasped. She grabbed onto my arm.

“Will, I think I found her.”

My smile grew as I felt little feet below my hand over Deanna’s stomach. Removing my hand for a fraction of a second I placed a kiss in the same spot. 

“…And that’s where you should be princess. Tucked away inside mommy.”

Q showed up again in a flash of light. I blocked Deanna’s view of Q. Beverly put a hand over her face when she realized what she was still wearing. The nurses and the other   
doctors in the room looked at her in horror. Q giggled like a little kid.

“Oops. Let me just get you all fixed up here doctor. There. That’s better now isn’t it? A nice clean uniform? You are most welcome to keep the doctors coat. It is your ancestors after all.”

Once again Q was gone in a flash. Beverly looked relieved that we were back in our own time. I know I was. Deanna got a pained look on her face suddenly. 

“What is it?”

She shook her head and moved her hand to the left of her belly button. 

“I’m not sure, but it hurts when I press down right here.”

Beverly came around to Deanna’s left side and gently pressed two fingers against her stomach.

“What is that?”

My eyebrows came together.

“What’s what? I’m not sure I follow.”

Beverly looked confused as she scanned Deanna with her tricorder.

“I don’t know, looks to be some sort of tracking device. I’ll need to examine her further. Alyssa, can you get Deanna a gown?”

Alyssa nodded her head and scurried off.

“What kind of tracking device?”

A temporary screen was placed around the bio-bed so that we were blocked from everyone else in the room. I narrowed my eyes at the seemingly large round and disc-like object   
on Deanna’s stomach. 

“Looks to be sub-dermal. Just below the skin. Can you get it out?”

Beverly nodded her head yes and grabbed a hypospray with Teroquine and local anesthetic. 

“Yes, this’ll help with the pain and make it so she will not feel anything from the waist down.”

Deanna locked eyes with me. I suddenly became worried.

“Can you get that disc out of her without any risk to the baby?”

I held Deanna’s hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“If I can narrow the beam of the laser scalpel, I will be able to extract the disc. You’ll feel some pressure Deanna as I get the disc out.”

Deanna looked at me and smiled.

“I never thought I’d hear myself say this but: I’m glad that there isn’t any needles in this time. I never want to see anything but a hypospray again. The last four months have been strange. I don’t want to go anywhere for a long time…”

I understood what she meant. 

“After what we’ve been through, I don’t blame you one bit Imzadi.”

I saw Beverly extract the disc from under Deanna’s skin and close the incision spot. 

“Well, I think I’ve found the cause of your bruising Deanna. This disc is a sensor that contacts a machine in the past. I’ll run some more tests on this disc. I want to see what makes it tick. I’ll ask that the two of you remain in Sickbay until the anesthetic wears off. As for Laura, she is doing wonderfully and is right on schedule at 31 weeks. Perfectly healthy in every way.”

Everything was going the way it was supposed to, maybe we could finally put this nightmare behind us. 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	10. Semi-Normal Routine/Temporal Distortions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna fall into a semi-normal routine, then later someone ambushes them in their quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura.

“Could this night get any duller than it already is?”

The nightshift on the bridge was always relatively quiet. Deanna had joined me on the bridge because she was experiencing her ‘second wind’. She was wide awake and full of energy. 

“Well I’m certainly enjoying this ‘downtime’ compared to what we experienced in the last four months. At least Laura is getting her sleep. But we both know that won’t last long, she only seems to sleep every couple of hours. It’s like she’s already testing her limits, and she’s not even out here in the world yet.”

I put a hand on hers, a smile spread across my face, but there was worry there.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. I won’t tell the captain you were on the bridge without your shoes. Your ankles are swollen again. You should put your legs up on something.”

Deanna glanced over at me and smiled. 

‘Already done Imzadi, brought the small Ottoman from the living area of our quarters.’

I chuckled for a moment and then the smile on my face faded as Lieutenant Selsnon behind me spoke up.

“Sir, I’m getting intruder alerts on decks 15, 7, 8, 36, 2, and 1 the bridge. They have temporal signatures to them sir.”

The Borg came to mind and my guard was instantly up. 

“Red alert!”

The space in front of me began to waver and suddenly, 50 soldiers in camo with guns came through. A smirking Doctor Sartos and Doctor Jacobson trailing behind them. 

“Wasn’t too hard to figure out that you Mr. Riker, Deanna and the good Doctor Howard came from the future. We just had to figure out the right temporal frequency to open up an aperture. So, this is the starship Enterprise?”

I planted myself in front of Deanna to block her view of the soldiers, even though I knew that their bullets could very well kill me. Swallowing, I tugged down on my uniform shirt. Holding my head high, I looked at the jet black haired man with the steely gray eyes. 

“Commander William T. Riker of the Starship Enterprise. This is the 24th century and you are not supposed to be here.”

The man with the jet-black hair and the steely gray eyes let out a humorless laugh and grabbed Deanna’s arm. With her right, she wrapped it around my waist. I found the barrel of  
a hand gun up against the back of my neck. I looked at her and projected a thought rather than saying it out loud.

‘It’s alright Imzadi, everything’s going to be just fine.’

Deanna reluctantly let go of her grip from around my waist and stood up tall. She winced, I knew that her legs and feet were swollen from Edema. Security converged onto the bridge, phasers drawn, though it would prove little use against all these guns. Selsnon had already contacted the captain by the push of a button on the security console above my head. It was Doctor Sartos that began to speak up again before steely-eyed jet black hair man could.

“Deanna, you should be in bed, and off your feet.”

We were lucky there were only human’s on the bridge with the exceptions of Deanna and Data. Wallens, the soldier that had helped us so many times while we were in the past, getting us extra food and other things, stepped towards Data in fascination.

“What are you?”

Data pushed aside the Conn console and swiveled the chair towards him.

“I am an Android sir. An Artificial Life Form. Lieutenant Commander Data. All Pleasantries aside sir, I must ask that you put aside your fire arm. You are quite safe here.”

Wallens put his gun back in his holster and looked around. But it was an as-of-yet nameless General who stepped towards me and pushed aside the black hair steely-eyed soldier.

“Move Tarnson. Commander, if I may, I would like to speak with your captain.”

The man’s tone was curt and impatient, but I held my cool and pulled down on my uniform shirt once more. 

“Of course General…? He’s on his way to the bridge now…”

The general in front of me fixed his six bars insignia stripe on his uniform jacket.

“General Raymond Argonson. U.S. Air Force. Fine ship this is commander. What branch of the military does she belong to? Air Force? The Army? The Navy?”

The Navy? Air Force? The Army? What was he talking about? I did my best to stifle a smile, but it threatened to come through anyways.

“Sir, I think I’d better let the captain explain.”

Inwardly I sighed in relief as Captain Picard came onto the bridge. 

“Captain on the bridge.”

All the Air Force soldiers stood at attention and saluted Captain Picard. General Argonson raised an eyebrow at me.

“Boy, don’t you know you are supposed to salute respectfully to your commanding officer?”

I stood at attention, but didn’t salute. Captain Picard stepped forward and introduced himself, though cautiously.

“Gentlemen. As you were. I’m Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise. A question if I may, how did you come aboard my ship?”

General Argonson still stood at attention and put his left hand out for Captain Picard to shake.

“We traced two temporal distortion signatures in one of the hangar bays back at the base. Do the words Beta Tli System mean anything to you?”

I shook my head. They must have heard me talking about the ship in the hangar bay. 

“We… passed through that system a couple of years ago. You must’ve heard me say that over the video camera feed…”

I was generally curious about the other temporal distortion General Argonson mentioned. Tarnson, the jet-black haired steely gray eyed soldier that had grabbed for Deanna’s arm shoved her into the chair. I caught her before she hit the chair. I glared up at Tarnson. I looked up at Selsnon and nodded my head at him.

“Lieutenant Selsnon, take Sergeant Tarnson to the Brig for assaulting a Starfleet officer. And confiscate his gun.”

I helped Deanna sit down in the chair. She looked into my eyes and gave a smile.

“I’m ok Will.”

It was Doctor Sartos that gave the strange smile.

“The second temporal distortion we followed came from the tracking device we planted in you Deanna. We did it to monitor your daughter’s progress.”

My face paled. So they were the ones that implanted that tracking disc inside her. My fists curled into balled fists. 

“Our daughter is not a science experiment, a pin cushion or anything else you might think prudent to your investigation. She is a living, breathing being.”

The strange smile disappeared from her face and replaced with sympathy.

“Don’t you mean a living and breathing human being? I would say that since she is still inside the womb she needs to be monitored.”

I narrowed my eyes at Doctor Sartos.

“You still believe you are in control of the situation in front of you. We spent four months at a secret military installation called Area 51 which is now a museum, undergoing tests and medical procedures at your own discretion. None of you have that authority here.”

The captain put his hand up to stop me from talking. 

“That’s enough for now number one. General Argonson, I assure you, there is no need for your weapons on this ship. This is not a ship of war. This is a ship of exploration. The Earth that you know, is now a part of history. Earth no longer has an Army, Navy, or Air Force. Those branches of the military flamed out of existence in the late 21st century. We have facets of all three. Earth is now part of an organization called the United Federation of Planets. I’ll be happy to show you around, but first I must insist that you lower your weapons. You are perfectly safe on the Enterprise.”

General Argonson put his hand up and all the soldiers put down their weapons. Each of the security officers confiscated their weapons, making a massive pile on the floor. We’d have to give them to the computer to recycle them. I leaned in and whispered to the captain.

“For now sir, I suggest we don’t reveal too much until we’ve gained their trust and they’ve gained ours. Until they’ve let their guard down a little.”

Captain Picard nodded his head yes and turned his attention back to General Argonson. All the soldiers followed and General Argonson followed Captain Picard up to the turbolift. They would have to go in shifts. 

“Now gentlemen, if you would so kindly follow me, we want to make sure you are all in good health, so I want to have our doctor examine you and your soldiers.”

General Argonson nodded his head in approval and waited for the turbolift to open. Wallens nodded his head at Argonson and spoke

“General Argonson, sir, if I may, I’d like to remain here and explore.”

He nodded his head in approval at Wallens and entered the turbolift with the last of the soldiers, accompanied by security. A smile spread across his face as the turbolift closed, and he made his way towards Deanna and I. 

“Wow, Deanna you are getting so big. You must be excited.”

A light shade of red appeared to spread across Deanna’s face.

“You mean excited for the second time? I never expected to give birth to the same baby twice. Those four months being held captive taught me to not trust anything around me. I’ve still got track marks in my arms from the iv needles and a large scar on my right arm from having so many blood transfusions. This little girl, our baby, Laura isn’t a science project as Will mentioned.”

She pointed to her stomach for emphasis and placed her hands over it, rubbing gently. I placed my own hands over hers. Wallens sighed and hung his head.

“Well you have my assurances that I do not follow any of what Doctor’s Sartos and Jacobson were doing to you Deanna. Some of it was bordering on inhumane. Believe me, I’ve seen some crazy things. Two tours in Iraq and it begins to mess with your unconscious mind. A lot of bad dreams. I had just graduated from John’s Hopkins when I was called to duty. I was going start my own practice. The first thing doctors learn is the saying: do no harm. We are held by that very oath. 35 weeks now is it? Only a month to go.”

The both of us nodded our heads in unison. But shook our heads no at the last sentence.

“Actually, I still have two months to go. Ten weeks to go until I make it to 45 weeks.”

Deanna projected her thoughts to me suddenly, causing me to fidget in my seat. 

‘Mr. Wallens feelings are genuine Will. He’s trustworthy. He’s also trying to figure out a way to stay here on the Enterprise. He doesn’t want to go back to 21st century Earth. Or to the Air Force base that is Area 51.’ 

I nodded my head at Deanna and listened as she spoke to Wallens.

“I’m from a planet called Betazed. All these people in this room are from Earth, except for Mr. Data of course, he was built on a planet called Omicron Theta. My father was human. There are many other species on this ship. I’ll talk to the captain if you’d like, see if we can let you stay.”

Wallens raised his eyebrows at Deanna. I cleared my throat.

“I don’t think he’s quite ready for your ability yet sweetheart.”

Deanna only shook her head and the two of them smiled at each other. His smile grew into amazement.

“Wow. You can really read my thoughts? Like a Telepath?”

Deanna shook her head no and propped her feet back up on the ottoman. 

“Actually, I have what one would call an Empathic sense. I sense and usually feel what others are feeling. I can’t usually read what someone is thinking. I can only hear people’s thoughts with others of my kind on my planet. With the exception of my husband of course. But that’s been 18 years in the making.”

Wallens hung his head low once again and reached for Deanna’s hand. 

“It was wrong for Doctor Sartos and Doctor Jacobson to take away your baby after her birth. They had no right. You are right, your daughter isn’t a science project, and I don’t pretend that she is. You are free to sue us if you’d like…”

I raised my eyebrows at Wallens. Huh? 

“With all due respect, Doctor Wallens, we have no intention of doing such a thing. In this century, we’ve moved beyond petty bickering. I would not wish what the two of us went through on anyone, not even my worst enemy.”

He nodded his head and stood tall. My attention momentarily averted from Wallens to the view screen. The stars whizzing by always calmed me. I looked Wallens in the eyes and  
spoke again.

“Have a seat doctor. Captain Picard should be back in a few minutes.”

It had already been an hour. I saw Deanna yawn in the seat next to me. She could barely keep her eyes open. I patted her hand to wake her up. She shook her head and gave me a tired smile. 

“I think I’ll go back to our quarters, soak in a hot bath and climb into bed.”

I nodded my head but noticed she was having trouble standing up. I clasped both of her hands and helped pull her to her feet. As we made it up to the turbolift, I saw her take a sharp breath in and let it out quickly. As we waited for the turbolift doors to open, I watched her shift her weight.

“Hip joints bothering you Imzadi?”

She nodded her head and leaned into me. 

“Yes, which means it’s going to make it a little difficult to get in and out of the bathtub. The hot water should at least relieve a little bit of the pressure.”

I nodded my head as the turbolift doors opened up. As we stepped inside I nodded to Data.

“You have the bridge Mr. Data. Let the captain know that I’m dealing with a family emergency.”

Data nodded his head in acknowledgement. 

“Ay sir.” 

Deanna kept leaning into me as we waited for the turbolift to reach deck 8. When the lift doors opened up on deck 8, we slowly exited. We were barely past the first bulkhead when she told me to stop. 

“Will, I need to stop.”

I nodded my head and instead of letting her stop, I scooped her up into my arms and grunted my way the 2 meters to our quarters. Once the doors to our quarters opened up, I found my legs were starting to shake under the weight, my muscles beginning to scream with intolerance. Now in the bathroom, I set her down on the floor on top of a towel. I felt something in the back of my neck.

“Don’t move.”

Deanna was wincing on the floor, but held up her hands, and so did I. We were still in trouble.

To Be Continued…


	11. Breaking and Entering/Early Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The soldiers from Area 51 come aboard, and Will and Deanna get an early arrival of their daughter Laura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura.

“Don’t move.”

There was something pointed at the back of my neck. I put my hands up. Deanna was still flat on her back on the towel on the bathroom floor. The hard floor wasn’t doing her body any justice of comfort. She held her hands up, but she looked at me with tears in her eyes. 

‘Imzadi, I’m scared. What if he shoots one of us?’

I looked into her eyes and tried to reassure her.

‘Who is it that’s holding us captive Imzadi?’

Deanna’s nostrils flared as I heard the click of a safety being disabled on the gun pointed at the back of my neck.

‘It’s Sargent Tarnson Will.’

Swallowing my abject fear, I managed to elbow Tarnson in the rubs making him drop his gun, but not before it went off. My face paled, and the world around me seemed to freeze in place. Then I realized that the bullet hadn’t hit Deanna, but was lodged in the wall instead. Security was pouring into our quarters, and two restrained Tarnson, while a third picked up his gun. Deanna was doing her best to sit up, but it was causing her too much pain. I gently helped her lie back down again.

“Lie down sweetheart. Lie down. That’s it. What’s wrong?”

She gripped my hand and started crying more. The whole situation of what had just happened, was finally getting to her. 

“Will the baby’s coming!”

All I could think of, was the situation and the scare from the bullet whizzing past her head had caused premature labor. There were two choices to choose here, try and make it to sickbay, which was 3 decks above us, or stay here and have Beverly monitor Deanna, and the baby be born in the bathtub. The bathtub idea was sounding better by the minute. The warm water would relax her body. It would be much easier on the baby and Deanna. Laura would just go from the watery confines of the amniotic sac to the water in the bathtub. 

“Alright sweetheart, let’s get you into the bathtub.”

She gave me a puzzled look for a moment, as if unsure what was going on. I’d forgotten about the last security officer behind me. I turned to see his face was beet red with embarrassment. 

“S-sir, wouldn’t you like me to contact Doctor Crusher for you? This idea sounds dangerous.”

I nodded my head but gave him a warning look.

“It’s natural ensign, and two, it’s really none of your business.”

Ensigns Connors raised his eyebrows at me but acknowledged the situation in front of him.

“Ay sir. I’ll be outside standing guard if you need me. I hope you don’t mind, I used the comm panel by the door to contact Doctor Crusher. She’s on her way.”

I waited to say something until it was just the two of us, and the doors to our quarters closed behind Ensign Connors. 

“Let’s get you undressed and into the tub.”

My mind was on autopilot, so much so that I forgot about one very important thing. 

“You forgot one important detail Will, you need to fill the tub with warm water.”

I put a hand over my face and ran it over my beard. 

“Right. Is the water warm enough for you?”

I momentarily helped her sit up so that she could put a hand under the facet with warm water flowing out of it. 

“Yes, it’s nice and warm. I don’t know how much longer this baby is going to wait. Why now Will? It’s too soon!”

I was almost at a loss to explain it to her. I did my best to pull her into my arms. The tub was almost halfway full of water. 

“I’m not exactly sure Imzadi. Some babies come early, or on time. Others come rather late. Sometimes Mother Nature’s clock gets messed up.”

She buried her face in the crook of my neck and kept it there as a contraction seemed to bite through her. I’d wrapped the towel from the floor around her, to keep her warm. I could feel her nails beginning to dig into my back, but I ignored it and tried my best to soothe her.

“Shh Imzadi, I’m right here. It’s ok. I know it hurts, I’ll ask Beverly to get you something for the pain when she gets here.”

I felt Deanna relax just as Beverly entered our quarters.

“Will, Deanna? Where are you?”

I called out to her shifting Deanna’s weight a little.

“We’re in the bathroom doctor.”

I heard three sets of quick footsteps on the carpet and hurriedly into the bathroom. Beverly was accompanied by two nurses. She looked at me seriously and put a hand on my   
shoulder.

“You sure you want to do this Will?”

I nodded my head yes and watched her hand reach up to Deanna’s face.

“Yes Beverly, this’ll be easier on the both of them. Besides, water births tend to be a little less traumatic for both mother and child. Laura will be going from one liquid substance to another. How are we going to proceed? Our bathtub isn’t that big.”

She brushed a long strand of dark hair from Deanna’s face. 

“Beverly? When did you get here?”

A quiet smile adorned Beverly’s face.

“I just got here, and don’t worry, you’re in good hands. Thanks to your husband.”

The smile slipped from Deanna’s face and I felt her nails digging into my back once again. I suppressed a grunt that was threatening to come out of my mouth. 

“…Will make it stop… It really hurts…”

My eyes wandered to Beverly who scanned Deanna. I kept the towel draped over her. I’d specifically requested that there be women nurses present for the birth of our daughter. 

“She’s dilated six centimeters, only four more to go before hard labor really starts to settle in. Let’s get her into the bathtub and comfortable. Alyssa, could you place a towel under her lower back? We need to support her hips as we get her into the water. That’s it. There we go.”

Beverly pressed a hypospray against Deanna’s neck that held an Epidural. I carefully lowered her into the water. I heard her gasp and then speak up.

“Will you’re getting your uniform all wet. The water’s a little too warm.”

I shook my head and smoothed her hair back with my water-soaked hand. 

“Don’t worry about my uniform. It’ll dry. Water’s too hot? I’ll turn down the temperature. Better?”

Deanna shook her head yes at me and smiled, the contraction had subsided, for now. She was still breathing heavily though. I watched as she caught her breath.

“…Much better… Will she’s going to be so tiny!”

She brought her hands up to her face and covered it and began to cry more. 

“Laura will be just fine Imzadi, she’s a fighter. She’s more like you every day. I think she has my temper though.”

Truth be told, I was afraid. In fact, terrified. My mind suddenly went to Hope. The memory was overwhelming. 

‘Doctor Carnon, we have to do something for Hope! Doctor Sartos? Are the two of you going to help me or not? I can’t get her out by myself, she’s breech…’

Beverly came into my line of vision and placed a hand onto my left shoulder.

“Will, what’s wrong?”

I shook my head and cleared my throat.

“Nothing, just a bad memory. She’s looking a little dehydrated, we should get her some ice chips.”

Beverly made her way over to the replicator in the living area and queried the computer.

“Computer, ice chips in a cup please.”

The computer gave three beeps and queried her.

“Please specify shape and size. Cubed or flat.”

Beverly gave a frustrated sigh.

“I don’t have time for this! Computer give me 40 flat ice chips in a plastic cup please.”

The light and energy of the replicator went off, and a cup of ice chips appeared in the food slot. Carrying the chips over us, she handed the cup to me. I tried giving Deanna the ice   
chip in her mouth, but she pushed my hands away.

“No Will, I don’t want ice chips, I want water.”

Beverly put a hand on Deanna’s shoulder.

“You shouldn’t be feeling anymore pain from the waist down. Should help your hip joints a little. Which is more comfortable for you? Putting your feet up on the edges of the tub or leaving your legs towards you?”

Deanna motioned at Beverly.

“I think I’m more comfortable with putting my feet on the edge of the tub. How’s Laura doing Beverly? Is she alright?”

Looking down at her medical tricorder and then back up at the both of us, she gave my shoulder a light squeeze.

“Laura’s heart is keeping steady at 137 and she’s breathing on her own. Won’t be long. Another thirty minutes, maybe less.”

I knit my eyebrows together. Nodding our heads in understanding, I squeezed Deanna’s hand and spoke.

“9 centimeters. She should be at the peak of hard labor. Which means that her contractions should almost be 30 seconds apart.”

I’d been watching Deanna for the past three or four hours, Laura was impatient, but was also taking a little time to show herself. Deanna was gripping the sides of the bathtub. She   
nodded her head at me and grabbed for my hand in a death-grip. I’d positioned myself behind her and the bathtub. She looked at Beverly, with a look of fear on her face. But   
Beverly did her best to assuage her fears.

“Beverly, its time. I’m frightened.”

Beverly put a hand on Deanna’s left ankle which was resting on the edge of the tub. 

“I know you’re scared Deanna, but Laura is in good hands. Ok, now do you feel an uncontrollable urge to push? Yes?”

Deanna nodded her head and waved her hand in the air towards at Beverly.

“Beverly, you are getting your pants all wet.”

She shook her head at Deanna and smiled at her, concentrating on what she was going on in front of her.

“Don’t worry about that. I want you to push. Good girl. Easy. Easy. That’s a girl. You are doing a great job. Keep going. Easy. That’s it…”

From my spot behind the tub I could see everything. The water was beginning to turn from clear to red. I knew that there was a lot of blood that came with giving birth, but it was different when it was your own child. I took a deep breath to center and steady myself. I shook my head, I was feeling dizzy. I blinked my eyes a few times and rubbed at them with my free hand. The dizziness was spreading, but I was doing my best to keep it at bay as I saw more blood enter the tub. I suddenly felt so dizzy, I lost my balance, and one of the nurses caught me.

“Commander!”

It was dark, but I could hear faint crying coming from the direction of the tub, and the voice of a very concerned Deanna.

“Will!”

Her voice was more than concerned, it was frantic. I began to hear splashing coming from the tub. Beverly’s voice was so loud, I felt like I was listening to the COMM system and   
my eardrums were about to go. 

“Deanna stay in the tub. Will, its Beverly, can you hear me?”

Oh I could hear you alright! How about turn the volume down on your voice! There was a nurse to the left of me somewhere, her voice was a little quieter. 

“I don’t understand this doctor, his blood pressure just keeps falling. His coloring isn’t good either. Yet, despite the readings from the tricorder, I can’t find anything wrong with him.”

I winced inwardly when I felt pain in my chest. Beverly’s voice was a little quieter this time.

“He’s not responding to pain stimuli. His lymph nodes don’t seem to be compromised. Let’s get a team in here with an anti-grav stretcher. We’ll take him back to Sickbay to run some more tests. I think this may be a bit more than a fainting spell.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Will, its Beverly, can you open your eyes for me?”

A slight ray of light entered my eyes and I opened them a little. Closing them again, I groaned. Trying again, I noticed that I could open them, but my vision seemed to be a narrow   
field in front of me. I cleared my throat and coughed. 

“Laura?”

Beverly came into my direct line of narrow vision. It seemed everything else off to the side of me was dark.

“She’s in the heated incubation unit next to you. Can you see?”

Concern was starting to give way to worry. I shook my head and tried sitting up, but Beverly pushed me back down gently. 

“Doctor, I can only see a narrow field of things about 2 meters in front of me. I’ll prove it. Move next to me.”

Since everything was dark next to me, there was no way to tell if she was standing there or not. I listened to the sound of her voice.

“Can you see me?”

I shook my head no.

“No, everything off to the side of me is dark. As black as midnight, and you are standing on my right side. What happened?”

She came back into my direct line of vision and began to scan me.

“At first I thought you’d just lost consciousness from seeing all that blood. But when Alyssa said that your blood pressure just kept falling, I had to wonder if it was something else. Our medical equipment can’t make heads or tails what’s wrong with you. As for your eyesight, I’d like to run another test. You could’ve take a blow to the head that we don’t know about.”

Slowly, with Beverly’s help, I sat up and turned so that Laura was in my sight. She was so tiny. Tiny and delicate arms and legs. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and tears were welling up in my eyes. 

“Deanna did well during delivery Will. You should be proud of her. There was very little blood loss. I know you’ll want to hold Laura Will, but until we find out what’s wrong with you, I’ll ask that you hold off on that for just a little while. I know, it’s a lot to ask since you want to hold her.”

I sighed, this was turning into another nightmare.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Sorry this has taken so long, couldn’t figure out where I was going with this at first. Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks! Let me know what you think!


	12. Hidden Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is able to see again and learns of a surprise that seemed to be hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura and Gracie.

I groaned a little and woke to a buzzing sound by my left ear. Opening my eyes, I found the face of Nurse Ogawa. She smiled and went back to whatever she had aimed at my head.

“Good to see you awake Commander Riker. I think congratulations are in order, but I’ll let Doctor Crusher tell you. Doctor, Commander Riker is awake.”

I listened to the sound of Beverly’s light footfalls coming towards the bed. A smile was plastered on her face and she held a holographic image of a baby in her hands. The holographic image shuddered a little and then resumed its soft humming as the picture remained unchanged.

“I don’t understand doctor, why are you showing me a scan of Laura?”

My brows knit in confusion more as she shook her head. 

“This isn’t Laura. This is Gracie. Her twin sister. Deanna decided to name her now rather than later. I don’t understand why our medical equipment didn’t register her.”

I stared at the holographic image.

“How did you know?”

Beverly closed the gap between us and whispered.

“After a medical team took you away, Deanna said she felt strange. I told her that it was just her body getting used to not having a baby inside her womb anymore. She just shook her head and said something didn’t feel right. I went to scan her, and my tricorder could find nothing unusual going on. So I had to go in. When I found a foot, I knew that something was going on. It was a few minutes before I could get my tricorder working again, and sure enough, that’s when I found Gracie. Deanna’s still not sure what to think of all this, but she’s taking everything in stride.”

I raised my eyebrow at Beverly.

“You mean to say that Gracie was hiding from your medical tricorder for the last 8 months? Look at that, she’s even covering her eyes with her tiny hands. So answer me this Beverly, why was Laura pushed out and not Gracie?”

Beverly shook her head and placed the holographic disc in my hands. 

“To be honest Will we’re not entirely sure. Sometimes twins get cramped up in there. Usually when the first of multiples is born, the other’s follow. But in the case of Gracie, she didn’t. There have only been a dozen or so cases of this happening to women of all different species.”

I chuckled a little, though I don’t know what for.

“So you’re telling me that Gracie ‘pushed’ her sister out because she didn’t like having cramped quarters?”

Beverly laughed a little at my comment. 

“Maybe, but I don’t think that would be possible. Laura was in her own amniotic sac. Sounds like Gracie already has your attitude Will. You might want to watch out.”

I smiled and shook my head, still entranced by the image in front of me. I could see all the wrinkles on Gracie’s little hands. 

“Why were you hiding from mommy and daddy Gracie? You already are like daddy if you like surprises.”

Beverly came back into my direct line of vision with another piece of equipment and aimed it at my head. 

“Hold still Will. I want to see if using this instrument will help your eyesight. You have a flesh-eating parasite in the part of your brain that controls your eyesight. This should kill it and restore your sight. Now hold still.”

I sat still and marveled at Gracie’s dark hair on her head. Even if it was just a holographic image of what was to come, it was strikingly accurate, down to the very last detail of fingernails. A smile spread across my face.

“I can’t tell whose hair she has, mine or Deanna’s.”

A small smiled adorned Beverly’s face. 

“Now that I look at it, she has your hair Will. Laura already has Deanna’s hair. But I think they’ll both have your attitude. Your temper. There all finished. How do you feel?”

I held up a shaky hand and opened my mouth. I felt a little disoriented.

“I’m ok, just a little dizzy.”

Beverly nodded her head seriously at first.

“That’s just your brain trying to readjust from having a virus in it. How’s your eyesight?”

I looked to the side of me, to my left, and saw Beverly clearly for the first time in hours it seemed. 

“I can see everything. I can actually see things in my peripheral vision. Things I wasn’t able to see out of the corner of my eye because of the parasite. I’ve been wanting to ask this since my eyes started going bad, how is Gracie? Is she doing ok?”

Beverly’s smile was wide now, and she turned her attention to the monitor she’d turned into a view screen. 

“32 weeks and doing well. Heartbeat at 142, and good respiratory movements. I can’t stress this enough Will, Deanna needs to keep her Magnesium levels up. If there is any and I mean any kind of hip joint discomfort, bring her in. I correlated my findings of that with some physicians on Betazed, and they said that is a sign of premature labor.”

I swallowed but pulled down on my uniform shirt. My attention turned back to a whimpering Laura and the heated basinet. Her little bottom lip was trembling. I wanted to pick her up but I looked to Beverly for approval.

“So am I ok now? Clean bill of health and all? I want to hold Laura.”

Beverly smiled and scanned me one last time.

“Fit as a fiddle Will. I want to see Deanna back here in sickbay in a week. I’ll need to perform another prenatal exam. Who would’ve thought a big strong man like you would faint at something as natural as seeing the birth of his own child?”

My face turned a little red, but I quickly quelled it as I turned my attention back to Laura’s tiny form in the heated basinet. Picking her up and cradling her in the crook of my left arm, I smiled down at her.

“I don’t exactly know how to explain it Beverly, it’s different when they are a stranger’s child. But when it comes to your own children, sometimes even the slightest things that you could normally handle, you crumble like a cookie. In my case, that’s what happened. Are you sure it wasn’t the parasite in my head?”

Beverly looked down at Laura in my arms and shook her head no.

“That was only part of it. Don’t be embarrassed. She’s cold. I would put a blanket over your shoulder and cover Laura with it. The blanket mixed with your body heat should help her feel like she’s back inside the womb again.”

Alyssa got me a blanket and Beverly draped it over me. Laura’s tiny whimpers caught my attention as her little arms flailed. She was so tiny and red. Her fragile looking body was quivering. 

“Can Laura hear me?”

Beverly nodded her head yes and pulled back the blanket and scanned her again.

“Yes, but to her it might sound garbled. I think she may be hungry Will. She’s trying to make a meal out of your uniform shirt.”

I momentarily turned red, and then looked around the room. Laura’s tiny mouth was desperately trying to grab at pieces of my uniform shirt. 

“Do you think she’ll take a bottle?”

Beverly’s smile made me wary for a moment.

“She thinks that you are the bottle Will. You see, sometimes in extreme circumstances when women aren’t producing enough breast milk, the men can. Usually the husband.”

My face became beet red, taking a deep breath, I felt the heat from my face subside. Letting out somewhat of a nervous laugh, I decided to crack a joke.

“Well, Beverly, if you haven’t noticed I’m not exactly lactating at the moment.”

Shaking her head and laughing, she handed me an equally tiny bottle. She pulled back the blanket a little more and watched as I did my best to put the nipple of the bottle up to Laura’s mouth. 

“Mind her head Will. Help guide her mouth to the bottle, that’s it. Watch for her little jaw to start moving, there we go. Huh, I wouldn’t have expected her to start suckling so early.”

Laura was hungry. It wasn’t long before she was whining from an upset stomach. Alyssa took the bottle from me and Beverly helped me put Laura up to my shoulder so that I could burp her. 

“Pat her back slowly Will, and lightly. She’s almost half the size she’s supposed to be.”

I nodded my head slowly and lightly patted her back until I heard air escape. A smile spread across my face and Beverly took her from my arms, placing her back into the heated basinet. 

“Beverly, she’s so tiny, when can Deanna and I take her home?”

Beverly shook her head no and gave half a smile.

“Not for a while Will. Remember, Laura was born at 31 weeks, she’ll be here for another three months before she is able to go home. She is strong and is already showing signs that she’s a lot farther along in her development than we thought. But just because she was able to suckle on the bottle once, doesn’t mean she’s ready to be breastfed yet.”

I nodded my head and placed my seemingly giant hand on top of Laura’s tiny head filled with dark hair. She was a fighter, and more like me every day.

 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks! Sorry its taken so long, internet has been down on and off.


	13. A Friend In Wallens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna have a moment with Laura, then they have a scare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura and Gracie.

We’d managed to send the soldiers and the doctors back to the 21st century, which was exactly the way it was supposed to be, a one way trip. All except for Wallens. He’d placed a request with Captain Picard to remain in the future and on the Enterprise. So, he was under the tutelage of Beverly, who graciously took him under her wing. I’d been in Sickbay for a few minutes and was in a chair next to Laura’s heated basinet. She was fast asleep. Wallens came up next to me and smiled.

“Scary isn’t it?”

I placed a hand on Laura’s tiny head. She had a monitor on her forehead and her chest. 

“Yes, but she’s already proven that she’s not giving up. She’s a daddy’s girl.”

Wallens pulled up a chair next to me and cast his gaze down at Laura’s breathing form. 

“I heard about her harrowing birth. Deanna had a water-birth and she gave birth to Laura in a bathtub?”

I nodded my head but kept my eyes on Laura.

“How is my personal life becoming an open book lately?”

Wallens folded his hands on his lap and gave me an apologetic look.

“Sorry commander. I meant no disrespect. This Sickbay has been such a magnificent wonder. Medicine has advanced so much in the past three centuries. Is it true that you’ve done away with catheters and breathing tubes?”

I nodded my head and my breath suddenly caught in my throat as Laura struggled for breath. I reached out a hand and it almost encompassed the entire length of Laura’s body. I held back the tears and tried giving encouraging words.

“Come on baby. Breathe. Breathe for daddy Laura.”

Beverly came over towards the two of us, all business.

“What happened?”

I shook my head and stroked Laura’s head.

“She just went to take a breath, and she couldn’t seem to catch it. Should we up her oxygen to 15 percent?”

Beverly placed a hand on my shoulder. 

“Yes, and Will, is that you talking or the doctor who no longer holds his license?”

I did my best not to purse my lips, but I was faltering the whole way. I saw the lights on the stimulator light up on Laura’s chest. The stimulator was so big, it nearly covered her   
entire chest. 

“Both I suppose. But I can’t let happen to her like what happened to Megan, or Hope for that matter.”

Wallens looked at me quizzically and furrowed his brown bushy eyebrows.

“Wait, you were a doctor? And who were Megan and Hope?”

I grabbed another medical tricorder from the table next to the basinet when Beverly stopped me.

“No Will, unfortunately, I cannot let you help me with this. Your license is expired and it needs to be renewed through the Board of Medicine at Starfleet Medical.”

I suddenly grew angry, with myself and with the situation that was unfolding in front of me. 

“Screw the Board of Medicine doctor! They don’t have a 31-weeker here on the verge of death!”

I didn’t like feeling helpless. 

“Commander, look at me, Doctor Wallens will help me stabilize Laura. You just need to sit back and try to relax.”

I knew that she was right, but I guess I just needed someone else to blame, besides myself. 

“You are letting a doctor from the 21st century help my little girl? No offense Wallens. His next suggestion would be to stick an iv needle in her arm with liquid Saline for hydration and intubate her until she could breathe on her own.”

A flash of light blinded me momentarily and when it disappeared, Q was standing right in front of the basinet. Defensively I got to my feet.

“Ew, I fixed Counselor Troi’s incubator so that she could give birth to that? She looks like an Arronian Chicken wing. Scrawny arms, beady eyes, with the mewling of a Klingon cat from their homeworld.”

My temper, now flaring, I stayed on my feet. 

“Q get out! Laura is not an Arronian Chicken wing!”

Q smirked and then snorted. 

“Very well, Riker, I certainly hope she turns into someone that resembles a human.”

I sneered at Q one more time.

“Q leave now! I’m not asking nicely anymore! Get out!”

Q pretended to sulk and disappeared in a flash. My attention was back on Laura, my hands on the edge of the heated basinet. Deanna came into the room, panic written on her face. Her thoughts seemed to slam into me as she approached the three of us.

‘Imzadi! What happened to Laura? What’s wrong with her?’

I pulled her into my arms momentarily, and then held her at arm’s length.

“She’s alright sweetheart. Beverly and Wallens are taking care of her. She’s just having a little trouble catching her breath, but we’re upping her oxygen intake to 15 percent.”

A monitor-screen began to beep, and Deanna’s eyes began to widen in horror. Her eyes began to roll to the back of her head, and her body falling like a sack of potatoes. I caught her before she hit the carpeted deck floor. 

“I’ve got you Imzadi, I’ve got you.”

My aching back screamed at me as Deanna became dead-weight in my arms. Doctor Selar and a couple of nurses helped me move her towards the bed. I tried to send her some of my thoughts to rouse her from her from her unconscious state.

‘Come on Imzadi, please wake up. Open your eyes for me.’

Her eyes fluttered open and blinked several times to try and focus on me just as the monitor-screen stopped beeping rapidly and evened out. Momentarily, I tore my gaze from Deanna to Laura, whom, with the help of the stimulator on her chest was breathing normally. An audible sigh of relief washed over me as my gaze went back to Deanna. She had a frown on her face and tears were spilling from her eyes, down her cheeks.

“She’s gone isn’t she?”

I shook my head no. Doctor Selar and two of the nurses left us so that we could have a moment.

‘No sweetheart, she’s right here. See?’

I took her face in my hands and stroked the tears away with the pads of my thumbs. I carefully rolled the heated incubator over to the side of the bed so that Deanna could see Laura. A delicate smile spread across Deanna’s face.

“Hello little one. Mommy’s here for you. So is daddy.”

It was the first time Deanna had been in contact with Laura since her trying entrance into the world in our bathtub. I sat down next to her and placed a hand over her still-growing baby belly. 

“Beverly told me about Gracie.”

The smile stayed plastered on Deanna’s face as she looked me in the eye.

“I knew that something was different as soon as Laura came out of me. I can’t explain it. Beverly found Gracie’s foot, and now we have a set of twins.”

Deanna tried getting up, but Beverly came over and pushed her gently back down.

“You need rest Deanna. Staying calm is what you need. I can’t stress enough that you need to take it easy. I know it’s only been a few days since Laura’s birth, but you need to start thinking about Gracie now.”

I could tell Deanna was tired of resting though. She shook her head and placed a hand on Laura’s head. 

“I’m not leaving my daughter.”

I knew that when Deanna had the final say in things, she meant it. She wasn’t leaving Laura.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	14. Q the annoying and Stinging insults

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q appears in a teasing mode, and Deanna goes into Mama bear mode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura and Gracie.

“Shh, it’s alright sweetie. Just go to sleep. Daddy is right here.”

I’d just fed her, and burped her. Her diaper had recently been changed. Her tiny cries made my heart break in two. I ran a large hand over her tiny head. She just wouldn’t stop crying. Beverly came over to the heated basinet and carefully picked her up.

“What is it sweetheart?”

Laura just kept crying. I was almost at a loss as to comfort her. Q flashed into existence right in front of my eyes. 

“Not now Q!”

Q only pretended to cover his ears and grimace at Laura’s cries. 

“Can’t you stop her squawking? For looking like an Arronian Chicken Wing, she has some powerful set of lungs. Those beady eyes are a bit frightening though. I suppose I could make the child bigger. Would this suffice?”

Q waved a hand over Laura’s bawling form and she fit the entire length of Beverly’s arm. Alyssa scanned Laura with a medical tricorder. Astonished, she spoke up.

“Incredible doctor. Laura’s weight and height have almost tripled. She now weigh’s 2.72 kilos.”

Laura’s little bottom lip began to tremble as she continued to cry. She looked completely healthy, but I knew that this wasn’t right. Laura had to grow the right way. I was about to protest what was happening, when Deanna stepped in. Her petite form shaking with anger. 

“Q! Don’t you even think about touching my baby! Get out! You so much as touch a hair on Laura’s head, and there isn’t a place on this ship you’ll be able to hide from me.”

I could feel her anger, but I sat in silence and watched the scene in front of me unfold. 

“Well, well, counselor, this is a rare sight. You getting angry. You have my word as me being generous, I’ll revert your daughter back to what she was.”

Deanna tugged on Q’s arm momentarily her eyes filled with annoyance.

“You call Laura an Arronian Chicken wing again and I’m sure that the Q would agree with me to some extent that you are going too far with your little games.”

That got Q to swallow hard and wave his hand over Laura who turned back to what she was.

“You wouldn’t dare Counselor.”

Deanna nodded her head seriously.

“I would Q. You’ve harassed us more than enough times. Its time you leave us alone. Your games are getting on my nerves. Now leave!”

It was the first time I’d ever seen Q’s face pale. In a flash, he was gone. Deanna looked a bit flustered, I didn’t blame her. I saw her sway on her feet a little and steadied her.   
Leading her over to a bio-bed, I had her sit down on it.

“I’m ok, it’s just Q makes me mad sometimes.”

I nodded my head in agreement. Laura’s tiny arms flailed a little as Beverly tried rocking her. She turned to us and spoke.

“Well, she’s not hungry, and Will, you just changed her. She could be just tired and cold. Deanna, why don’t you try holding her under a blanket?”

Beverly carefully placed Laura into Deanna’s arms, and she saw tears begin to form in her eyes. I put a hand on the small of her back and rubbed it. Laura seemed to notice the warmth of Deanna. Her little fingers trying to grab pieces of Deanna’s hair. I placed a blanket over her shoulder and listened to Laura’s tiny murmurs of happiness. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart, just go to sleep. Mommy’s got you. There nice and warm.”

I cherished every moment of this. It would still be three more months until Laura would be able to go back home. The stress of the last few days was finally beginning to sink in. I sunk down on a bio-bed next to the one Deanna was sitting on.

“I’m beat, I think I’ll have a nap. Wake me if anything happens Imzadi.”

Deanna nodded and rocked back and forth with Laura in her arms. My eyes drifted closed, and soon I was in a semi-deep slumber.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	15. Back To The Past We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q decides that he wants to revoke his agreement and hurls Will, Deanna and Doctor Crusher back into the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura and Gracie.

Laura is finally big enough to go home. Deanna and I thought we’d never see this day. She now weighs 2.72 kilos. Now in our quarters, Laura was beginning to get fussy. I knew her hungry cries anywhere. Her little arms flailing, I handed her off to Deanna. Propped up against the pillows on our bed, I watched as Laura latched onto her and began suckling. There was something so calming about watching Laura nurse. So natural… I gritted my teeth as a flash of light dissipated and Q replaced it. 

“Ugh, so that’s how human females feed their young. How repulsive.”

I quickly blocked Q’s view of Deanna. Though it was her voice that came through loud and clear seemingly through my back as if it were nothing.

“Q, I thought I told you to go away. Can’t you leave us in peace? I’d like to raise my family without you barging in every few months or weeks.”

Q crossed his arms and yawned as if bored with her little outburst. 

“Well, I’ve decided to revoke our agreement. I’ve decided to send the two of you and Doctor Crusher back to the 21st century. I wasn’t quite done with our little game. Besides, you have no idea what is in store for your second little one.”

With the snap of his fingers, Deanna and I found ourselves back in the secret medical facility. I ran a hand over my face.

“Great. Just great.”

Deanna’s eyes grew wide and tears began to form in them.

“Will, I refuse to have Gracie in this medical facility! I don’t want to be pumped full of Magnesium, Terbutaline or any other drug they can think of! Our baby is going to be born aboard the Enterprise!”

I held up my hands in submission for a moment and then straightened out my uniform. A closed-circuit camera was watching us from the corner of the room. 

“What do you want from us?”

Deanna was pacing the room again. When she wanted answers, she wasn’t particularly good at sitting still. I saw her stop pacing and press a hand against her back.

“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head at me and waved off my hand offered to her for help.

“Just false labor Will. It’ll go away. This is the 9th time this month. Nothing some light stretching won’t fix.”

My eyes went wide.

“What? 9 times in a month? Isn’t that a sign that your body is telling you to slow things down a bit?”

Deanna nodded her head, but she seemed to know what she was doing. 

“Beverly didn’t seem to be too worried about it. She said that she studied up on my Betazoid physiology and found that false labor can happen more than 9 times in the last month of pregnancy. So don’t be surprised if it suddenly shuts off, and then starts again tomorrow. I’ve got this.”

I married such a strong willed woman. Deanna kept pacing the room even as Doctor Sartos came into the room. A twisted smile on her face.

“You just couldn’t stay away could you? Huh, I should’ve known you were carrying twins. But where’s the other one? You’re daughter Laura?”

I stepped forward and watched Doctor Sartos tried to grab Deanna’s arm.

“Don’t touch her.”

Doctor Sartos eyes narrowed at me as I kept Deanna behind me. 

“Take the wife to Labor and Delivery. Get her hooked up to monitors and draw some amniotic fluid. I want to compare it to the other baby’s.”

A couple of nurses nodded their heads and each took an arm. But Deanna had planted her feet firmly on the ground.

“I’m not having my baby in this place.”

Doctor Sartos almost snickered.

“Like you really have a choice.”

But she did have a choice. Her wedding ring slipped off her finger suddenly, and as she went to bend down and pick it up, Doctor Sartos roughly shoved her out into the hallway,   
where a stretcher lie waiting for her. I picked up her matching gold band and curled my fingers around it. 

“Please Imzadi! Don’t let them do this! Not again!”

Her cries were more than my soul could bear. 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think of this twist? Let me know! Thanks!


	16. Resisting the Grain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna resist against their captors. Meanwhile, an ally waits in the shadows of a two-way mirror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura and Gracie.

How could things have gotten so bad? Why had Q thrown us back into this primitive version of Earth? Deanna kept her eyes on me as a nurse pulled amniotic fluid from her stomach at her navel with a very large syringe. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll figure a way to get us out of here. I promise.”

I wasn’t very sure what some of these things were used for. Beverly could tell me exactly what medical instruments were used for and how they fit in with the current situation. Doctor Sartos smirked at me.

“You know more or less what medical supplies and instruments we in this century don’t you commander? Or should I say doctor?”

I couldn’t believe this, how could Eric Sartos be the great-great-great-great grandfather to this woman? 

“That’s security clearance above your head Lieutenant, and our ships computer has 62 data-encrypted networks to help dissuade people or certain individuals from breaking into it. How did you get access to my service record?”

Doctor Sartos smirked some more and continued reading the paper that was falling to the floor monitoring Gracie’s heart rate pattern. 

“Now that would take the fun out of it, if I told you how I did it.”

I let my anger stew under the surface. I turned my attention back to Deanna and cast a thought to her.

‘Listen to me Imzadi, no matter what they tell you, do not let them induce labor. Gracie isn’t a science project. Neither of our girls are.’

A flurry of emotions crossed her face and a strange smile crossed Doctor Sartos face.

“Right on time. Like clock-work.”

Doctor Sartos took the syringe from the nurse and injected the amniotic fluid into a glass vial, placing a label around it. I glanced at the machine monitoring the baby’s heart rate. Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes at the doctor.

“What do you mean ‘right on time’?”

The strange smile stayed on her face as she adjusted the controls on one of the many machines Deanna was connected to. 

“No matter, her contractions are still highly irregular.”

Shaking my head once more, I grabbed for Deanna’s hand.

“What did you give her?”

Sartos pulled back the sheet to expose Deanna’s bare stomach. Letting go of Deanna’s hand, I pushed Doctor Sartos hands away.

“I’ll do it.”

She raised an eyebrow at me, but only shrugged her shoulders.

“Suit yourself doc. But I would think this stuff would be a bit antiquated for a 24th century mind like yours.”

Deanna’s eyes widened at me momentarily, she seemed startled. 

‘Imzadi, what are you doing?’

I only smiled and continued pressing down gently on her stomach.

‘Doing Beverly’s job. Besides, I’ve done this several times before, a long time ago. It’s like slipping on an old pair of good shoes. I’m sorry, does that hurt?’

Deanna nodded her head and bit her lip.

“Yes”

I saw her relax a little when I put the sheet back over her stomach. 

“It’s ok, I’m done now. Just relax.”

Just then, Beverly burst through the door to the room and almost snorted in disgust. I’d only seen her do that a handful of times, when she really didn’t like something.

“Doctor Sartos, just what do you think you are doing here? Deanna isn’t ready to deliver yet. You expressly went against her wishes and mine as her personal Physician. Patients have rights you know.”

Beverly pushed her way towards us and looked at Deanna. She had begun sweating, and looked tired.

“She’s having an allergic reaction to something. What did you give her?”

The twisted smile came back to Sartos face. 

“Magnesium.”

I gritted my teeth, but held my tongue and let Beverly unleash her wrath at Doctor Sartos.

“Are you crazy? She’s allergic to Magnesium! Get some Saline and flush out her system.”

The nurses seemed more concerned than Doctor Sartos. They scurried about looking for what they needed. Beverly seemed to fit into this century and the 24th. She could survive in either one easily. One nurse hung a bag of liquid saline and squeezed it to help it go down into the thin clear tubing attached to Deanna’s arm. 

“Deanna, how do you feel?”

She looked up at the both of us and nodded, smiling.

“Much better thank-you.”

Doctor Sartos growled in protest and abruptly left the room. Deanna gripped my hand and a look of pain crossed her face. Her body shook with every breath she took, she was resisting the grain. Beverly pressed the call button on the wall behind Deanna. 

“No Beverly. Please no drugs. They’ll lose if I resist.”

Beverly placed a left hand over Deanna’s belly. Tears were streaming down her face. I didn’t like to see her in so much pain. She grunted and breathed through the pain. 

“Deanna, there is only so much pain your body can withstand. Now I can give you something to reverse and curb the pain…”

Deanna shook her head no and was out of breath as the contraction subsided. 

“No, no drugs Beverly. I’m not letting them win. If you give me something for the pain and to reverse labor, they’ll just try to re-induce later. I’m not letting them win. Gracie isn’t coming out. She’s staying right where she is.”

Beverly gave Deanna a watery smile and nodded her head. 

“Now, you rest up. On your next contraction, I want you to straddle.”

Deanna and I both gave Beverly a confused expression.

“Straddle?”

She nodded her head yes kept her eyes on Deanna.

“It’ll help with the pain a little. My doctor told me that when I was in labor with Wesley. It worked wonders.”

I kissed Deanna’s forehead and then wiped away the sweat from it. She gripped my hand tighter than a vice as another contraction came through like a bad rainstorm. Beverly rubbing her back in large stroking circles. The two of us helped Deanna into more comfortable position.

“Here, let us help you. There we go. Should take the pressure off your hip joints. Remember to breathe. Keep breathing. That’s it.”

Looking up at the camera mounted on the ceiling I yelled into it, hoping that someone on the other end would hear me.

“You are losing! Do you hear me? You can’t have Gracie! She’s staying put right where she is!”

There was no intercom interruption. Only the beeping of the machines in the room and Deanna’s ragged breathing as she tried to catch it, regaining her strength for the next round of contractions. I looked her in the eye.

“How long can you keep this up?”

Deanna had a fierceness in her eyes I’d never seen before. 

“For as long as it takes Imzadi. I’m not letting them have the last say in this. We’re not science experiments, and I don’t intend to be one, again.”

With another nod of my head, I saw her body begin to quiver as another set of contractions took ahold of her.

“It’s alright sweetheart, I’ve got you. We’ll get through this.”

Just behind the other side of the two way mirror, we had an unknown ally waiting to help us.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	17. Resisting another Tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna continues resisting her captors, and soon they find help in one of the doctors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura and Gracie.

Deanna’s face was bright red, and sweat was pouring down her face. I set another ice chip in her mouth and she took it gratefully. I sighed, the bags under my eyes must be apparent by now. I’d gotten little sleep in the last 36 hours. Neither of us had. Turning to Beverly, I shook my head, this had gone on long enough.

“Beverly can’t you make her take something for the pain and reverse the process?”

Beverly’s eyes flickered up towards my own.

“Will I’m surprised at you, you know very well that once a woman is past 5-6 centimeters Physicians are not allowed to administer any labor reducing counteragents as it will result in the distress of the fetus. I can give her something for the pain, but she has to want it. I can’t force her.”

Sighing once again, I placed a kiss against Deanna’s forehead. A long and hard contraction began to bite its way through her. Her body shook as it fought against the contraction.   
Deanna looked at me and spoke through gritted teeth.

“I will resist with every last breath I have in me. Gracie is not coming out of me. Not in this place. She’s not coming out and that’s final.”

I could do nothing but abide by her wishes. My guard went up as someone came into the room. We’d dimmed the lights to get some rest, and we hadn’t bothered to turn them on. Deanna had been sensitive to light lately. Whomever entered the room turned the lights up just enough so that our eyes could adjust. It was Beverly who took the first step towards her ‘double’.

“You must be my great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother. Are you here to help us?”

The red-headed woman nodded her head at Beverly and took another step towards us.

“I was just transferred here from Bethesda. I can see why that witch Sartos confused you for me. We look like twins. Despite being three centuries apart. Bridget Howard. That would make you my great-great-great-great-great granddaughter.”

Beverly smiled and nodded at her grandmother.

“Beverly Crusher. Still a Howard through and through though.”

I smiled at the two of them, they really did look like twin sisters. There were of course, minor differences. Bridget got down to business and looked Deanna over.

“How long has your wife been like this Mr. Riker?”

I stifled a yawn and looked Bridget in the eye.

“A little over 36 hours. She’s dilated 7 centimeters which is too far to intervene and reverse labor. She’s also refused an Epidural. Beverly and I keep telling her, there is only so much pain her body can handle. We’ve stocked up on enough ice chips for the next 48 hours, but honestly, she’s already to the point where the pain is making her delirious. She keeps calling out for her father, and he’s been gone for over 30 years. Could you try and convince her?”

Bridget nodded her head and gave a smile to bleary eyed Deanna on the bed. 

“Deanna I think it’s best if we give you an Epidural for the pain. You’ll feel a lot better trust me.”

Deanna’s eyes grew wide, they were wild and seemed untamed. 

“Beverly?”

Bridget shook her head and took Deanna’s hand and squeezed it for a moment.

“No I’m her grandmother.”

A confused expression crossed Deanna’s face.

“Felisa?”

Bridget shook her head no once more. But it was Beverly that spoke.

“She’s back on Caldos remember? This is my great-great-great-great-great grandmother Bridget Howard. The only Howard in the family who was in the military and achieved the rank of General all while still maintaining her job as a doctor and an OBGYN.” 

Deanna was still confused. I wiped the sweat from her forehead and reached into the plastic cup for another ice chip. She shook her head and pushed my hands away.

“No more ice… I want water…”

Her hand was resting over her belly and I placed a hand over own.

“You know that you can’t have water sweetheart. You’ll have an accident.”

She was really being stubborn about this. Bridget came into her line of vision.

“You need to conserve your strength for your daughter Gracie. Now I really think that you would benefit from having an Epidural onboard. It will make you feel better, and help build up your strength.”

The waterworks began again, I did my best to hold my own back. There was only so much pain that she could withstand. 

“No, you don’t understand, they’ll take her away from me, just like they did with Laura. We’re not science experiments! I’m ignoring my natural instincts and going against everything my body is telling me. Gracie isn’t coming out. I almost bled out the last time right after Laura was born. Laura is Gracie’s twin.”

Bridget furrowed her eyebrows together, confused at Deanna’s wording.

“Twins? You’ve recently given birth then?”

Deanna shook her head no as another hard contraction took its grip on her. 

“No, Laura was born three months ago. She barely fit in my husband’s hand. She was that tiny. There were times we didn’t think she’d make it. She was born in our bathtub. I had a scare…”

Bridget waited until Deanna could catch her breath and then listened as she continued.

“I had a scare, Tarnson he pulled a gun on me and my husband, Will knocked the gun out of his hands but not before a bullet went past my head and into the wall behind me. I went into premature labor and after 6 excruciating hours of pain, Laura came out of me and into the water. I didn’t find out about Gracie until about an hour later. She’d hidden from every scan, and every check-up I had for 8 months. She was by all accounts a surprise. I will not let them take her away from me. Not like they did Laura.”

Bridget gave Deanna a sympathetic smile. But it didn’t reach her eyes, there suddenly seemed to be a sad quality to them. 

“Believe me, I’ll do everything in my power to help you keep Gracie. I won’t let them take her from you. My own son Jacob was taken from me the moment he came out of me. He was quiet. He didn’t cry. I never even got to hold him.”

Beverly’s eyes became wide, but they weren’t in sadness they were almost in anger. 

“You should’ve sued the hospital. The doctor and nurse somehow switched your son with someone else’s who didn’t live. Your son is alive. I can’t tell you the rest. It would change what happens in this timeline.”

Bridget was all business again and pulled at her white coat. 

“If you’re sure Deanna, but it would be beneficial for the both of you. Gracie’s heart rate is holding steady at 139 but, that could very well change, you’ll be black and blue for a few weeks from the Caesarean but, Gracie will be safe in your arms. What do you say?”

Deanna shook her head once more. She wasn’t budging on the subject.

“NO. Gracie stays in me. I don’t want Doctor Sartos or any other doctor touching me. The only three people I’d let touch me are you, Will and Beverly. I’d let either one of you three deliver my daughter. But none of the others. Especially not Sartos. She intentionally tried to poison me twice already with Magnesium.”

Bridget looked at Beverly and then back to Deanna.

“Doctor Sartos gave Deanna Magnesium the first time because supposedly her levels were very low, which wasn’t true, her levels were where they were supposed to be. She had an Anaphylaxis reaction to it and I had to give her a large dose of Epinephrine. This time we gave her Saline and flushed her system on time.”

Bridget shook her head and placed a hand on Deanna’s belly.

“I understand your fears as a new mother. But believe me, when push comes to shove, when you get to 10 centimeters you’re not going to be able to ignore your natural maternal instincts to push.”

Deanna turned her gaze towards me, very determined to show me what she was talking about.

“Would you like to have a look at what my body is going through?”

Swallowing, I tried to brush off her stinging question.

“Well, from Beverly and Bridget’s professional standpoint of view, I have seen what you are going through. I know that it’s no picnic. I wouldn’t wish it on any man in any culture.”

Deanna huffed, slightly satisfied. Then her attitude changed and she looked at Bridget.

“I’ll take the epidural, but only on the condition that you deliver Gracie and not Sartos.”

Bridget gave Deanna a warm smile and pulled a drawer open, taking out two syringes. One filled with local anesthetic and the other an epidural. I felt Deanna steel herself in my arms on my right while Beverly held her upright on the left. 

“This’ll sting a little, make your back nice and round for me.”

Deanna nodded and shut her eyes, her left hand digging into my back. She’d buried her head in my neck just as she had during Laura’s birth. Beverly was doing her best to give   
her words of encouragement.

“I know it hurts. You’ll be feeling much better soon. Let your muscles relax. That’s it.”

After Bridget finished inserting the needle into Deanna’s lower back, she paused for a second.

“What in the world? Where did all these track marks in your back come from?”

Deanna desperately tried looking behind her. All I could think of was that Doctor Sartos must have gotten to her, taken whatever blood samples she wanted from her. 

“My guess is that Doctor Sartos tried to take blood samples from her.”

I tried to get her to take another ice chip, but yet again she pushed my hands away. Giving a tired sigh, I tried once again. She again pushed my hands away.

“She’s dehydrated, but she won’t take any more ice chips.”

It was hard enough knowing that we were once again stuck here. But I knew that Bridget would help us. 

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you think? Let me know! Thanks!


	18. A Second Chance to Right A Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna no longer can resist her maternal instincts, and agrees to have Beverly's great-great-great-great-great-grandmother help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura, Gracie and Bridget's son. Bridget too of course.

Beverly and Bridget were helping Deanna lean back against the pillows when I got a glance at her shirt. I wasn’t embarrassed, but someone needed to tell Bridget.

“Uh, Bridget you might want to take care of that.”

She looked at me with a confused expression for a moment.

“Huh? Oh… You would think two months after giving birth I’d stop producing milk. I’ll be right back.”

I looked to Beverly as Bridget left the room. Deanna was fast asleep, so we had to whisper.

“Should she be back at work so soon? I mean her body needs time to readjust again.”

Beverly frowned and shrugged her shoulders. 

“That’s the problem with America in this time frame. They only give women a month to acclimate and care for their children. It’s not enough time if you ask me. Looking at her, I can already see the first signs of Post-Partum Depression settling in her.”

I shook my head and watched as Deanna moved her arm in her sleep. Smoothing her hair from her face, I looked back at Bridget who’d just come from the bathroom. 

“That’s better. Who are you?”

I turned my attention to Q, who had clearly just invited himself in, without permission. 

“That’s not important. What is important, and this wasn’t my decision, but I’m prepared to give you someone who was wrongly take from you. There. It’s done.”

Bridget teetered on her feet momentarily, I steadied her before she could fall backwards. 

“You alright?”

She nodded her head and stumbled on her feet again. 

“Here, sit down.”

A frown stayed plastered on Q’s face. 

“Believe me, it wasn’t my idea to give you, your son back, but it was the right thing to do. According to some people I know.”

Bridget fidgeted in the chair, she wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. But a smile adorned her face.

“Where… Where is my son?”

Q pretended to look at his fingernails as if disinterested. 

“Why isn’t it obvious?”

A shocked expression crossed Bridget’s face for a split second, but then was replaced by a wide smile that matched Beverly’s. 

“I just felt him kick me… How is that… even possible?”

Q shrugged his shoulders, but before he disappeared once more, he gave a slight smile.

“Those I know, decided that it was important to give your son back to you. It’s important they said that your son continue your family line.”

Then Q disappeared, as he always did. Bridget looked slightly bewildered, but it took her less than a minute to compose herself. 

“Let’s stop worrying about me, and start giving our attention to Deanna. She’ll need constant monitoring now. She needs to keep taking the ice chips.”

Deanna’s form stirred in the bed and her eyes looked wildly around for a split millisecond, until she found my baby blue’s. I could feel her thoughts calm, the storm coming to an   
end. She shifted slightly in the bed and looked down at the bottom of the sheet.

“I think the baby turned and my water broke.”

Beverly and Bridget both nodded their heads and set about to work. Bridget responded first.

“9 centimeters and your water hasn’t broken yet. If we get to 10 and it hasn’t broke by then, I’ll have to go in and break it.”

Deanna bit her lip and nodded her head, turning her gaze back to me. 

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. All it needs is a gentle nudge to break. All you’ll feel is a slight gush of water. Baby won’t be too far behind that.”

I had hoped my words held some encouragement in them. Deanna’s eyes widened and she squirmed in the bed more. Beverly looked to Deanna with a warm smile on her face.

“Do you need to push?”

A nod of her head and Deanna had her hand pressed up against the side of her back. The other held onto my left hand tightly. Beverly and I helped her towards the edge of the   
bed, all while trying not to get tangled up in the thin tubing that was housing the liquid saline flowing into her veins. 

“Is Gracie ok?”

Bridget nodded her head a bright smile on her face.

“Heart rate holding at 137. Good respiratory movements, I’d say she’s ready to greet the world don’t you?”

The smile on Deanna’s face disappeared. Uncertainty began to form in her dark brown eyes. A storm brewing just beneath them.

“You won’t let them take Gracie will you? You’ll do everything in your power to stop them right?”

Bridget nodded her head and kept her position in front of Deanna.

“You have my word on that Deanna. Now I need you to take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. This is going to feel strange for a second or two, you might feel like you’ve had an accident, but that just means that I broke your water.”

I kissed Deanna’s forehead and peeked around the other side of the sheet. I could already see the top of Gracie’s head, and it was filled with dark hair. However, the sac was still intact. I saw Bridget grab for a long medical instrument I’d never seen before, and with the slightest nudge with it, the sac ruptured and all the fluid started collecting on the floor below. I placed myself back behind the sheet and watched as Beverly encouraged her.

“Push Deanna. Easy. Easy. That’s it. Keep going. You’re doing a great job. Keep going. That’s a girl. One more, we’re almost over the hard part. Once we’re past the head, the shoulders will be the easy part. She’ll slide right out after that. Keep going. Good girl. Ok, got her!”

Tears were streaming down Deanna’s face as Bridget held Gracie over the sheet so the two of us could see her.

“She looks like you Will.”

I shook my head and kept marveling over Gracie.

“No, I think she has your hair. She has my eyebrows and my chin though. Though they do say babies do look more like their father’s when they are born, and then turn out looking like their mother’s as they grow older. Let’s see if that pans out in a couple of months.”

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, What’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	19. A Sight to Behold/Interruptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Deanna share a moment of happiness with Gracie, and Bridget has her own scare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura, Gracie, Bridget and her son.

“Sweetheart, don’t you think we should cut the umbilical cord now?”

Deanna hadn’t been paying any attention. Her sole attention was on Gracie who was lying on her mother’s chest making happy noises. 

“Hmm? Oh yes of course.”

Carefully separating the two, I handed the scissors back to Bridget and watched Gracie sleep atop Deanna’s chest. 

“Maybe she does have my hair after all. This is so much different from when Laura was born.”

Deanna gave me a tired smile. She wasn’t in any immediate pain, so she was feeling good.

“Well Will, from her point of view, her birth was just as trying as her sister’s, but the main difference is that she was born into a room with air and bright lights, and Laura was born in a darkened bathroom and in a bathtub full of water.”

Our perfect moment of happiness was suddenly shattered as Sartos came into the room with a scowl on her face. 

“Ah, I see you’ve had your daughter… What a surprise. I thought you’d be able to hold out a little longer…”

A sarcastic tone had taken hold of her voice. While the smug look never left her face, Deanna’s look of serenity and happiness was replaced with utter horror. Gracie started to whine from the comfortable spot on top of her mother’s chest. My eyes hardened at Doctor Sartos. I listened to Deanna’s soft voice to Gracie.

“Don’t worry sweetie, mama won’t let anybody take you away from me. We’re going to stay together. I promise you.”

Gracie continued to cry. I firmly planted myself in front of Deanna, and soon Beverly and Bridget followed. Sartos tried to push Bridget aside, but I blocked her. She only let out a strange laugh as she looked at Bridget. 

“Huh, I was wondering when you’d show… Things don’t exactly add up when it comes to you. Doctor Howard how long have you been practicing medicine?”

Bridget became offended by Doctor Sartos questioning. But Beverly stepped in to protect her family.

“How about you get out of here and leave my family out of this. You’ve already caused enough trouble.”

But Bridget stood her ground and put a hand on Beverly’s shoulder.

“No, I can handle her. Besides, I outrank her. I’m a general and she’s a Lieutenant. She’s crossing the lines into insubordination territory. Effective immediately I am transferring you to the base in Washington D.C. Pack your bags doctor, your flight leaves from Albuquerque at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.”

Doctor Sartos was livid, her face was red and she was panting.

“Just you wait doctor. Wait until Admiral Sartonson hears about this.”

Bridget had a smirk of her own on her face.

“Admiral Sartonson already agreed on the transfer. End of story. Now go pack.”

Sartos huffed and puffed out of the room, seemingly defeated. All the nurses had now left the room and Beverly spoke up.

“Way to stick the landing Gran.”

Bridget made a face at Beverly and sank down into the chair I’d just vacated next to the bed.

“Ah, don’t call me that. Call me Bridget. You calling me gran makes me feel old. For now I’m younger than you!”

I was confused by Beverly’s wording, scratching my chin, I raised my eyebrows.

“What did you mean by ‘way to stick the landing’ Beverly?”

Bridget and Beverly both giggled for a second or two.

“I’m surprised you’ve never heard it Will, it’s a saying still popular in gymnasts circles. My great-grandmother was one. She was forced to abandon that dream when she broke her leg in two places falling from the balance beam doing a double back flip and tuck at the end of her routine. She had my grandmother later in life. Nana was horrified to find that when she was a teenager that great-gran was the oldest of all her friend’s mother’s. Here she was with a mother that was well into her mid-seventies, while her friend’s mother was in their late forties. But my great-gran lived until she was 165. Great-gran was really something. Us Howard’s tend to live a long life. We may have long lives, but tragedy always seems to follow us. We either seem to find bad men, or the one good man we settle with meets with an untimely death…”

We’d all lost someone. Beverly had lost her own mother when she was very young. I was a baby, and Deanna was only 7 when her father passed. I scratched my chin some more and spoke, trying to keep the tears out of my eyes and the quiver out of my voice.

“I was just a baby when I lost my mother. She was beautiful. Jet black hair, dark eyes. Native to the Inuit peoples of Alaska. I took care of myself from the age of 13 and beyond. My father was never really around.”

I felt Deanna’s hand on my shoulder. Her eyes stinging with tears. My eyes hooked onto the sight of Gracie still lying peacefully on Deanna’s chest, fast asleep. 

“You are not your father Will. You’ve already proven that with Laura. Our girls are lucky to have such a wonderful father. If anything, you are more like your mother. I’ve never met her, but if I had, I’m sure we’d become fast friends.”

A smile graced my lips. Bridget looked at Beverly with her own smile.

“What’s your mother like?” 

Beverly’s eyes saddened, but her voice never quavered.

“Oh mam? She passed away when I was 4 or 5. The only thing I can really remember about mam was that she had the most beautiful singing voice anyone had ever heard. That and her red hair and blue eyes. I remember looking at her one night before bed and thinking I was looking at a mirror at myself.”

I looked to Bridget. Everything was the same, except for she had green eyes. Beverly picked up on that.

“Amazing. You have green eyes. You’re son has green eyes too by the way. The other three children you have, are blue-eyed and red hair…”

Beverly stopped talking when she noticed Bridget looked unusually tired. 

“I don’t know why I’m so tired…”

Before we could ask her what was wrong, she was still, and slumped over in the chair. Beverly moved into action faster than I could react first.

“Will help me get her on the floor. Something’s not right. Deanna can I borrow a pillow from behind your head?”

Deanna nodded as I pulled a pillow from behind her. Setting it on the floor, I helped pull Bridget from the chair and carefully lie her on the floor, with her head gently on the pillow. 

“Get me that Otoscope on the wall over there.”

I did exactly as Beverly instructed me to do. 

“What is this end piece for?”

Beverly looked at me and pointed to it.

“It’s to look inside your ears to see if there are any problems. Just take that piece off and throw it in the bin over there. It’s disposable.”

Now I was really confused.

“Disposable?”

Beverly nodded as I handed her the instrument.

“You’d be surprised how much material we used to waste between this time frame and the end of the century. This has a magnifier and a light on the end of it.”

I watched as she looked into Bridget’s left eye with it. 

“What’s wrong?”

Shaking her head, she looked into Bridget’s other eye. 

“She’s blown her left pupil. 4 millimeters. Indicative of a brain injury. If we were back on the Enterprise it would be simple, I could give a hypospray and her blown pupil could reverse itself. With this primitive technology, it’s hard to definitively diagnose her condition. This simply could mean that she’s exhausted too. Can’t give her a CAT scan because there’s a lot of radiation involved and it would harm the fetus. I’ll keep checking. Could you get me those privacy screens over there?”

Nodding, I walked the few steps away and grabbed the set and brought them back to Beverly. Setting them up, I sat down on the bed next to Deanna and stroked Gracie’s head. 

“Someone looks very comfortable on top of mama’s chest…”

Gracie’s little hands were moving across Deanna’s semi-bare chest. I turned my head slightly at the left when I began to hear two voices. 

“What happened?”

Bridget sounded confused, then I heard Beverly’s voice.

“You lost consciousness and were slumped over in the chair. I thought you had a brain injury, but now I’m not seeing any evidence of that. Don’t worry, your son is fine. Let’s sit you up. There we go. Any dizziness?”

By now Beverly had removed the privacy screens and Bridget looked better. She was all business again.

“Well Deanna, I think its time for Gracie’s first bath don’t you?”

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	20. Bath Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will witnesses Gracie's first bath, and Beverly's grandmother goes into labor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura, Gracie and Jacob. Oh and Bridget.

“It’s alright sweetie, I’m almost done.”

I stood at the sink and watched as Bridget gently gave Gracie a bath in the plastic tub. Gracie was screaming at the top of her lungs. Her tiny lips were quivering, whether it was from the cold, or just because, I wasn’t certain. Her little arms and legs kicked in every direction, though I knew she couldn’t control her movements yet. Bridget rinsed Gracie off and dressed her in a clean diaper, which looked huge on her, a pink hat covered her head, and pink booties to match. A white onesie was now covering her body. Bridget placed Gracie in my arms, and her cries quieted and were turning into coos. I thought it would be awkward holding her, but it actually came naturally. 

“She’s so light… She couldn’t be more than maybe half a kilo?”

Bridget raised her eyebrows at me and shook her head.

“You’re daughter weighs 5.5 pounds.”

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

“You’re still using the Metric system in this time frame? We measure in kilos now. How many centimeters long is she?”

Bridget was confused. Crossing her arms over her chest, she reminded me so much of Beverly, after all, they were family.

“Centimeters? That would take me awhile to figure out. Inches are simple. 17.2 inches long.”

I placed Gracie back into Deanna’s arms and she settled her back against her chest. The two now asleep. If only I had holo-camera. They were fairly new, but they took great pictures. I looked back to Bridget. She couldn’t have been more than two weeks out from her due date. She sat down and blew out a long breath. A painful expression crossed her face. 

“Prematurity in our family must be hereditary. 38 weeks. I should’ve known better. With my job, the stress is at higher levels than most. Of all the women I helped throughout their entire pregnancy, I don’t think I appreciated my bedside manner as much as I do now. So much for the no drugs option. Contractions aren’t too bad yet. Still irregular.”

I saw Beverly try do her best to comfort her grandmother.

“I know for a fact that we Howard’s have very low tolerance for pain. Here, let’s get you into a gown and into bed. I’ll need to monitor you. And yes I know you know how the show goes: get to 6 centimeters, give you some local and the epidural, and it’s all a matter of time and Mother Nature.”

I began to help Bridget up on her left side, but Beverly looked me square in the eye.

“I’ll take care of this Will. Strange how the tables have turned, in this time there are more male OBGYN’s than in our time frame. In our time its more women.”

Bridget leaned into Beverly as they crossed to the other side of the room, pulling the curtain so that I couldn’t see them. I could hear Beverly coaching Bridget through her contraction on the other side of the curtain.

“…Keep breathing, that’s it. 25 seconds, almost there. Ok, all done for now. Here’s an ice chip. Now just lean back and relax. Take a nap. You need to rest up.”

I turned my attention from Deanna and the baby, towards Beverly when she pulled back the curtain and then closed it again. 

“This is going to take a while. Long labor and delivery runs in my family. It took my grandmother nearly 5 days to give birth to my mother. Since she was older, giving birth to my mother had a profound impact on her body. The younger we are, the easier it is for us to recover from giving birth. But then again, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”

I sighed, women went through so much. The toll that their bodies went through during the process of giving birth still amazed me and alluded me. Men didn’t experience that. Deanna had been the brave one, taking all the aches and pains, and zeroing in on her maternal instincts. If I were to experience that, I don’t know if I could handle the threshold of pain to the degree Deanna had. Gracie stuck her hand in her mouth and smiled in her sleep. That right there, was what life was worth living for. 

“My two girls, the most perfect moment in the world.”

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	21. A Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beverly asks for Will's help, and Bridget gives birth to her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura, Gracie and Jacob. Oh and Bridget.

“Will I could use an extra set of hands over here!”

I made my way around the other side of the curtain and looked her straight in the eye.

“What’s wrong?”

Shaking her head, she gestured towards the chair next to her.

“I’ve got a difficult breech here and I need another set of hands to help me pull Jacob out. You see this? We’ve got the shoulder and the knee coming out at the same time.”

I sat back in the chair for a moment after pushing my sleeves back. There was no way two people could possibly attempt this! This is impossible! 

“Beverly, there is no way the two of us could even attempt this! You know as much as I do that this is an eight-handed job, not four. Can’t we at least get two nurses in here to help us out?”

But Beverly being Beverly, her stubborn Howard pride, she shook her head no.

“As you can see Will, we are short doctors, I don’t care if the doctors and nurses here served just over two nickels here. I don’t trust them. The best doctor we’ve got is lying here in this bed and in need of our help. It’s just you and me. We can do this.”

I blew out a breath and pulled on some gloves. I’d never attempted this before. My fairly short stint at Starfleet Medical, I had somewhat easy breeches. This one was difficult as   
Bev said. 

“The way his shoulder and knee are coming out, it might be compressing his spinal column.”

She nodded her head at me and wasted no time moving forward.

“Ok, I’m going in. I need you to help me push Jacob back in so that I can help guide him so he’s facing head first.”

Swallowing, I followed her instructions, but something was wrong. What we were attempting wasn’t working. I heard Bridget begin to cry louder in the bed.

“Please get him out!”

I slowly looked over the sheet and tried my best to calm her down.

“Bridget, it’s alright. We’ll get Jacob out, we’ve just hit a little snag. Look at me, I need you to focus ok?”

She nodded her head and gripped the sheets once more. Beverly’s face was red and covered with sweat when I came back.

“So nice you could join me doctor. Grab me that scalpel over there.”

Now I was sweating. Swallowing, my fingers curled around the metal archaic scalpel and I handed it to Bev. 

“A-an Episiotomy?”

She was concentrating but nodded once more. Holding out her hand I knew exactly what she was asking for.

“Yes, if we can’t get him out at 10 centimeters, we make it bigger. He has to come out for oxygen soon. Let’s get her some local anesthetic. This is easy to fix when finished.”

I handed her the syringe and she knew exactly what she was doing. I was at a loss. These instruments were not familiar to me at all. I had to admit, I was really nervous. I could see more of Jacob’s head now, instead of his shoulder and knee. Beverly and I both pulled him out and he began to scream at first, and started to cry. 

“That’s what we want to hear! That’s a good boy. Will hand me that bulb syringe over there.”

I smiled and reached for the bulb syringe on the tray next to me.

“Luckily, I do know what a bulb syringe is. Dad said he used one on me when I got really bad ear infections.”

Placing it into her hand, I began wiping him off with a towel. This hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be, why had I left this profession? 99 percent joy and 1 percent tragedy. Most of the time it was pure joy. Megan was why I’d left.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!


	22. Family Resemblences/Resolving the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is on a roller-coaster of raw emotions and tragedies, but the nightmare is coming to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Star Trek characters. But I do own: Laura, Gracie, Bridget and Jacob.

I began wiping Jacob off with a towel. One powerful set of lungs on him. A smile came to my face as I wrapped him in a blue blanket. I gave Jacob to Bridget and she was crying.

“Thank-you. Both of you.”

I stood back as Beverly looked at the baby in Bridget’s arms. This was her family.

“Hi grandpa.”

She took in every feature of her grandfather that she could. Wouldn’t it be something to meet a family member from the past? I found my mind wandering to my own family in this time frame as I peeled off the gloves from my hands and throwing them in the bin by the door. 

“I actually didn’t know what grandpa Jacob looked like. There are no pictures of him in my time. Only little blurbs about who he was and how he shaped the things to come. He’s remarkable gran.”

Bridget’s nose flared, but then her gaze softened as she held Jacob.

“I told you don’t call me that. I’m not that old yet. He’s amazing isn’t he?”

Without interfering, I counted ten toes and ten fingers, each hand and foot had five of course, but they were all perfect. Bridget gasped when Jacob opened his eyes.

“He has blue eyes.”

Beverly knew that. She’d said that almost all the members of her family had blue eyes. Except for a few. I made my way on the other side of the curtain and back on the edge of the bed with Deanna and Gracie. Gracie had just fallen asleep. I traced her nose as she slept. Deanna was also asleep. Carefully scooping Gracie up from her spot on her mother’s chest, I put her back in the plastic basinet next to the bed. Deanna suddenly stirred in the bed and sat stock-still, straight up.

“Someone’s coming, and they are very agitated and angry.”

My guard instantly up, my left hand rested on the plastic basinet, while my right arm snaked around Deanna’s waist. I could feel her tense under my gentle grip. I shook my head, whomever they were, they weren’t getting the baby or Deanna. The door to the room burst open and I suddenly felt an explosion of pain in my stomach. I barely had time to look down at the blood that was now starting to pool out of me from the wound in my stomach. Gunshot wound. How is Beverly going to fix this one? There were voices in the hallway, but not sure where they were coming from. I was seeing spots before my eyes. Gracie was screaming at the top of her lungs. Deanna was screaming at someone, but everything was becoming a big blur. I tried speaking when I felt pressure up against my stomach. 

“Shh Will don’t talk. I need to stop the bleeding.”

I could barely see Beverly’s face. She was blurry and I was having trouble breathing. I tried to speak once more, but only heard gurgling in my throat, then there was a metallic taste in my mouth.

“Don’t talk Will. Don’t talk. You have a punctured lung. Try to take slow and even breaths. That’s it. I need some help in here! Would somebody please help me?”

Everything around me was starting to turn white, I knew I was on the verge of passing out.

“Oh no you don’t Will. Stay with me. Keep your eyes open, there you go. Good boy. Keep your eyes on me. That’s it.”

I could barely see Beverly anymore. She was only an outline. The pain was unbearable by now and I didn’t know how much more I could take before my body completely succumbed to it.

“Could somebody please help me? This man needs a shot of Morphine now!”

The last thing I heard before I passed out were the screams of Deanna and Beverly, Gracie was screaming at the top of her lungs. 

“Don’t touch me! Get your hands off me!”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke somewhere different, but the pain in my stomach was still there. Groaning, I attempted to open my eyes. There was that strange thing over my nose and mouth like when we were first brought here. I felt the urge to cough and I felt something damp on my lips. A voice somewhere off to my left, and then I heard a loud voice yelling.

“…He’s vomiting blood! More suction!”

I didn’t care what was happening to me, I was more worried about my family. Where was Deanna? Beverly? Gracie? Where were they? There was someone close to my ear.

“Everything’s going to be ok Mr. Riker. You’re in good hands. Just try and relax.”

I heard Beverly’s voice suddenly, but I wasn’t quite sure where it was coming from. I tried once again to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. 

“Will I need you to relax. We have your eyes taped shut so that we can perform surgery. You have a punctured lung. We’ll need an ultrasound and exploratory surgery to see where else you’re bleeding. I’ll get you another shot of Morphine.”

I nodded. Soon my head was swimming, but I wasn’t feeling any pain. Soon I heard nothing.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At first, there was only loud beeping in my ears. Then I heard someone crying next to me. Slowly opening my eyes, and instead of seeing Deanna, it was Beverly. I swallowed and attempted to speak.

“Hey…”

Beverly quickly wiped her eyes and looked me straight in the eye.

“The military police, they took my grandmother. Grandpa too. I don’t know where they took them. Other than gran was locked up somewhere.”

There was something else in Beverly’s eyes that didn’t seem right. 

“There’s something else?”

She nodded her head and pulled up a chair.

“Yes, they locked up Deanna and took Gracie. I don’t know where they took her. I tried to stop them, but all I got was the butt of a rifle to my head. 16 stitches.”

Still groggy, yet more alert, I sat up in the bed and saw something round and metal surrounding Bev’s wrists.

“What are those?”

She held up her hands to me and winced.

“They call these handcuffs. You can’t free your hands unless you have a key for them.”

Holding her hands out to my own, I tried to pull them off her wrists. It was a lot of grunt work. I stopped when she let out a small cry.

“Ah! It’s no use Will. I already tried several times to see if I could get my hands out of these by using some Vaseline, all it did was make my hands slippery. The cuffs haven’t budged one bit.”

Her wrists were becoming red and raw. There had to be some way to get these things off her wrists. It was a week before I was up and about. A soldier came to my room with a grim expression on his face.

“Get up, I’m taking you to see your wife. Put this on.”

The soldier handed me a black blindfold and I covered my eyes with it. He obviously didn’t want me to know where we were going. I could hear Bev’s soft footfalls behind me and the clicking of the metal cuffs. Suddenly I felt her hand on my left shoulder. Another soldier had shoved her forward. 

“Keep moving. The room’s just up ahead, to your right.”

Bev and I heard a large and heavy metal door in front of us open up. The two of us were shoved in and the blindfolds all but ripped from our faces. What I saw in front of me was nothing short of disgusting. They’d given Deanna a bucket in case she’d gotten sick. The first thing that assaulted my nose as I’d entered the room was the smell of vomit and sour milk. I found her curled up on the bed in the corner with a thin blanket over her. Making my way over to her, I carefully knelt down in front of her.

“Sweetheart it’s me. Look at me.”

She’d lost some weight, the circles under her eyes were very noticeable and apparent. Her hair was still matted and stringy. There was another bucket just to the left on the floor next to the bed with fresh water in it and some washcloths on the end of the bed, untouched. Beverly and I set about trying to clean Deanna up as best we could. She seemed so far away. I found the source of the sour milk smell when I pulled the blanket back. 

“Food for my babies. I won’t let them go hungry.”

There were several small bottles filled with milk. Beverly’s eyes saddened as she continued cleaning her up.

“She’s on a hunger strike. They give her food, but she won’t eat. She won’t eat until she sees Laura and Gracie.”

I was at the end of my rope. Q had gone way too far this time. It was time to go home. I looked around, I hadn’t even noticed he was in the room until I spotted him in the corner.

“Alright Riker. I’ve had my fun with the three of you. But now I’m rather bored. You can go back to your precious ship. But not without consequences.”

A flash of light and we were back on the Enterprise. We were back in Sickbay. Deanna was lying on a bio-bed with a blanket draped over her. Rolled up in a ball and on her side, she stared at the wall. She seemed lost. Slowly making my way into her line of vision, she finally made eye contact with me. Her eyes focused and became wide. Clumsily, she threw herself into my arms and cried.

“Shh, it’s alright. You’re alright now. We’re safe. We’re home now.”

When she finally calmed, I helped her lie back down. Moving just above her head, her eyes lit up as she got a look at Laura and Gracie. They were both becoming fussy. They were hungry. 

“You need to eat Imzadi.”

But Deanna shook her head and reached into the basinet for Laura.

“No, the girls need to eat first. Then I’ll eat.”

Sighing, I reached into the second basinet and placed Gracie into Deanna’s left arm. Tears of relief and happiness streamed down Deanna’s face as she watched our girls nurse. We were home and we were safe. Privacy screens were erected around Deanna as Captain Picard came into Sickbay.

“Report Number One.”

I straightened out my dirty uniform and realized I must look a sight to the captain.

“It’ll all be in my report sir. I’d rather not go into great detail here. Case in point, Q is responsible for us leaving the Enterprise. We were on Earth, but in 2011.”

Captain Picard smiled at me.

“Sounds fascinating number one. I look forward to reading your report.”

Taking that as his que to leave, he hurriedly stepped out of Sickbay. Beverly walked over to me, all smiles.

“She got away.”

I was confused for a moment.

“Who got away?”

She handed me a padd with Bridget’s photo on it and paragraph’s of information.

“My grandmother Bridget and her son. They got away. Apparently a guard helped her escape from Area 51 through a hole in the chain-link fence, where a car was waiting for her. They moved to New York City and that’s when she changed her name to match my own. She resigned from the Air Force and they lived out there lives in New York City. She worked at one of the hospital’s in Manhattan. There’s even a picture of my grandfather Jacob in there.”

I scrolled to the bottom of the padd and found a picture of an adult Jacob, with striking red hair and blue eyes. I smiled as my mind went back to the squirming baby that Beverly and I had helped to deliver. 

“Well at least two good things came out of our time in the past. I have a feeling Deanna’s going to be eating for the next few hours. She hasn’t eaten in almost 3 days.”

It would take some time for Deanna to heal, but as long as she had me by here side, she would never be alone. After all, I was her support beams in all of this. That and we had our family back. Our whole and complete family. Our nightmare finally over for good.

End

A/N: So, what’d you guys think of the ending? Let me know! Thanks!


End file.
